Harlow Council Minority Administration

Statement by the Leader of the Council, Lorna Spenceley, January 2004

In May 2002, Harlow residents voted in a new council. Labour plunged from first to third place, and an alliance of Liberal Democrats and Conservatives joined forces to run the town.

Despite a promising start, with considerable achievements to the new council’s credit, relationships between the two groups deteriorated. In November 2003, when two Conservative committee chairs refused to resign following a vote of no confidence, the final nail was hammered into the coffin of the joint administration.

With three almost equal parties on the council, no possibility of a three-way agreement, and no two parties able to work together, a minority one-party administration seemed the only alternative to complete chaos.

And when no other party put forward any nominations to lead the council, the Liberal Democrats were the only group willing to take on this responsibility.

With only one-third of the seats, it is obviously impossible for the Liberal Democrats (or indeed any other group) to put policies into practice without the support of at least one other party.

But that’s not the end of the world. Many other towns have had balanced or ‘hung’ councils for years; many with minority administrations. What is important is that elected politicians of all parties learn to make the new situation work, for the benefit of Harlow’s residents.

When no-one has a majority, the old rules, when one party could dominate the town and stitch up decisions behind closed doors, no longer apply. So what does that mean in practice?

Agreement

Firstly, we all need to accept that no one party has a God-given right to run Harlow without the support of others. For the politicians, that means seeking out points of agreement rather than, as before, concentrating only on points of difference. The council’s new scrutiny committees, and their task groups examining issues in depth, will be a good opportunity to do this.

Communication

Secondly, we need to communicate better. Communication is a two-way street: we need to listen to residents telling us what they want from their council, and to tell them openly and honestly what we’re doing and why. We must make more effective use of the information the council gathers about residents’ views, and improve our own communication methods, including relationships with the local press.

Planning and Priorities

Thirdly, we need to plan ahead. Harlow Council has traditionally suffered from chronic short-sightedness, lurching from issue to issue. We must open up discussion well ahead of decisions being made, so that residents and councillors have time to digest clear information and reach a well thought out conclusion.

So what are the issues on the horizon – and the Liberal Democrats’ priorities?

If residents have two overwhelming concerns, they are community safety and the state of our local environment.

Anti-social behaviour

We want to tackle effectively the problems of crime and anti-social behaviour. In February, councillors will consider a report on the council’s strategy for community safety, and how we can best play our part alongside the police and other agencies in making Harlow a safer and more pleasant place to live and work. Meanwhile we have put in a bid which, if the council endorses it, will provide additional police community support officers, half funded by the police, half by the council.

Clean and green

We want to improve the condition of our streets and estates. The new Community Response Team is working well, cleaning up local areas on a regular basis. The new enforcement team is already making a difference, and February’s report on community safety will consider how to make the best use of this resource. We want to reduce the amount of rubbish going into landfill, and increase the percentage of waste recycled. The first committee meeting under Liberal Democrat administration proposed that the council consider investing in a new scheme, allowing additional recyclable materials to be collected at the kerbside. We will continue to press Essex County Council to maintain our roads and pavements properly – and to reverse its savage budget cut which will dramatically reduce the repairs that can be carried out.

Sustainability

Harlow is under pressure from Government plans to build 200,000 more homes in the south east. We want to represent Harlow’s views clearly and strongly to the Government. We will support sustainable development that provides affordable homes for young people, and attracts investment to improve local transport and public facilities. But we will oppose ill-considered proposals that simply cram inappropriate levels of housing in and around Harlow while providing inadequate solutions to our highways, transport and other problems.

Decent homes

Harlow’s council tenants were consulted recently on the future of their homes. Of those who voted, an overwhelming majority wanted the council to keep their homes, and improve them using the council’s own resources. Liberal Democrats promised we would honour the outcome of the consultation – and we will do so, bearing in mind that some estates face significant problems, and that we may need to consult residents there further about how to solve them. Reaching the Decent Homes Standard for all council homes is a Liberal Democrat priority.

Sports and leisure

Local sports and leisure facilities are crumbling, expensive to run and in need of major overhaul. Harlow has received a large Government grant to address these problems, build more affordable homes and invest in education. Planning applications for the sites needed to make these plans possible will be put to the Planning Committee in February.

Children and young people

Facilities for children and young people are another important concern; we want to work in partnership with others to offer Harlow’s young people opportunities to grow, develop and achieve.

Value for money

Finally, we will continue to seek quality in council services. Harlow residents deserve a council that performs well, serves the interests of local people and offers value for money. For many years, that aspiration has been light-years apart from the council’s actual performance. We want to narrow that gap, and give local people the quality of service they are entitled to expect.

ENDS