Councillors hysterical over election, says leader

A council leader has accused opposition members of becoming "hysterical" over the proposed postponement of local elections.

Michael Stonard, the leader of Labour-led Norwich City Council, said the authority voted to ask ministers to suspend the scheduled ballot in May, ahead of a shake-up of local government.

The move was met with fierce criticism at a meeting at City Hall on Wednesday night, with Lucy Galvin, Green Party leader, warning that "democracy was under attack".

"The idea that it is about running away from democracy is an absolute nonsense, particularly when all that is happening is perfectly normal when going through a structural change," Stonard told BBC Radio Norfolk.

The government has told dozens of council leaders in England they have until Thursday to say whether they want this May's elections to be postponed, due to the pressures of planning for local government reform by 2027.

Stonard argued the postponement would also save the "undefendable" election costs of at least £250,000 and avoid council work stalling during the pre-election period, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"There's plenty of precedent for the final set of elections not taking place before a new set election for the new authority," he told BBC Radio Norfolk presenter Chris Goreham.

"Members of the opposition are getting a bit hysterical about it but it is perfectly normal.

"I fully understand the issues around public confidence and trust, and the need for regular democracy, that's something we have stood by, but these are exceptional circumstances," Stonard added.

"We are putting in the right structures and mechanisms for the next 50 years, a once-in-a-generation change and we are determined to get that right," he said.

He rejected claims Labour was running scared of the electorate, and said the party was doing well among voters.

James Wright, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group, warned at Wednesday's meeting that it could lead to a "domino effect" that would prompt ministers to also postpone county council elections for a second consecutive year.

"The tsunami of change is about to hit, ready or not," Stonard warned councillors.

He added that a huge amount of work would be required once the government announced how Norfolk would be split into new councils.

Galvin questioned how councillors could act "legitimately" in their role, having overstayed the length of their four-year term and whether the "cost of public confidence" had been calculated.

When asked by Goreham on Thursday about the cost of an election and the need to prepare for change, Galvin said: "What price do you put on democracy?

"It's really important...elections are how residents judge what we have done, hear what we plan to do and, crucially, how we listen.

"You postpone them at your peril because democracy is under attack, and when people feel unheard we have to really stick to process.

"It needs to be justified by evidence, not convenience."

Kay Mason Billig, Norfolk County Council's Conservative leader, said she wanted voting to take place in May.

However, several other council leaders in England have said they will be pursuing a delay.

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