Conservatives are not 'the party of democracy in Essex' say local Lib Dems

6.15.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 17th Jul 2008

Lib Dem Cllr. Mike Mackrory believes there is a 'democratic deficit' in the way Chelmsford Borough Council is being run

Claims this week to be 'the party of democracy in Essex' - by the Conservatives - have been proved to be false. On Tuesday, the Conservatives dismissed Liberal Democrat plans to allow the public to ask questions at Essex County Council meetings, and on Wednesday they refused to debate a Lib Dem motion querying why so little debate is allowed at Chelmsford Borough Council!

Chelmsford Liberal Democrats are increasingly worried at how the Conservatives are stifling debate at Borough Council. They deny opposition party councillors (Liberal Democrats) and even their own backbench members the opportunity to speak on behalf of their constituents.

Lib Dem leader Councillor Mike Mackrory commented: "It is unbelievable that the Conservatives deferred to Cabinet a motion calling on them to refer less items to Cabinet and to promote more open discussion! When the cabinet system was imposed on the Council by the Labour government we worried that it could be used to ignore the views of non-Cabinet members. Under the present Conservative administration, that is exactly what is happening".

Conservatives on Chelmsford Borough Council also turned down a motion calling for a Chelmsford town forum. This would have brought the urban are of Chelmsford more in line with the villages, who all have parish councils. Those councils can be a voice for their neighbourhood and apply for lottery funding and other support for community projects.

The Conservatives also rejected calls to allow the Development Policy Committee to discuss 'neighbourhood centres' (i.e. local shopping centres). These are not currently included in the Town Centre Area Action Plan and, as a result, the councillors for these centres (mostly Liberal Democrats) have no input into their future development.