Last night's Full Council meeting descended into a shambles. As has happened before, a small number of individuals in the public gallery were so disruptive that the entire Council meeting removed to another room. I imagine the individuals concerned, who numbered not more than ten, congratulated themselves on this result. They seem to think shouting other people down is democratic, although I think it is rather the opposite.
I have long thought that the debates in Brent Council are of extremely poor quality, with little or nothing of substance being said, but that does not justify the anti-social behaviour involved.
UPDATE
I referred to shouting other people down because you disagree with them as undemocratic, which it is. The various figures were all in front of councillors in the reports of the meeting (I wonder whether any of the protesters read these? They are on the Council web site). I also wonder why the protesters did not attend the original meting that passed this scheme back in December 2012, or contribute in any way to that consultation (The January 2014 meeting was simply an annual review). I have described the decision making process here.
1 comment:
Regrettably Cllr Powney is an unreliable witness due to his inability to count beyond the number of his fingers. This level of innumeracy is not uncommon amongst Brent's Council leadership. Faced with a proposal to adjust the Council Tax Support budget from Brent Housing Action, Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group, Unite Community and local Labour Party branches Cllr Butt twice managed to get the costings wrong. He went to the local press to denounce the proposal as too expensive at the cost of £4million, reduced the figure to £3.6million during the debate and seemed totally oblivious that the Council's beancounters had already put forward a provisional maximum sum of £2.2million in Brent's own CTS Consultation Document.
As for undemocratic actions Cllr Powney is obviously as ignorant as the other Councillors who refused BHA a platform to address the meeting in direct contravention of the Council's own Standing Orders and Constitution. They further refused a Councillor's request to suspend the SOs to allow property debate.
That these (barely) elected representatives of the people can act in such a manner and then accuse the justifiable anger of resident's organisation of being "anti-social" beggars belief. But then as the new Private Landlords Licensing proposals show, Brent Council is preparing to declare THREE WHOLE WARDS as being anti-social. Just how out of touch are these clowns?
Post a Comment