Petition is successful with 423 signatures
To: All Elected Members of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Call on Members of Stockport Council : vote to remove the Cabinet Leader
Stockport Council's Annual Meeting on 19th May voted to replace the Cabinet Leader. The new Cabinet Leader is one of the Councillors who voted to save Stockport's historic Central Library at the Council meeting on 30th January. The action sought by this petition has therefore been achieved. We will continue campaigning, using our Save Stockport's Historic Central Library petition, for the new administration at the Council to reverse the decision of the previous Cabinet to close Central Library.
We the petitioners call upon the Members of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council to exercise the power of the Council meeting, as prescribed in Article 7.03 (d) of the Council’s Constitution {Note 1} to remove from office the Cabinet Leader.
Why is this important?
Reason :
The Council conducted a consultation exercise, between 23 August and 18 October 2021, entitled, Proposal to move Central Library services to Stockroom {Note 2}. The proposal would end the Borough’s Central Library service in the purpose built Grade 2 listed building in the town centre which was a gift to the people of Stockport (a Carnegie endowment) and which has served us well for 109 years. The Stockroom is a repurposing of vacant retail units in the 1960’s built Merseyway shopping centre, paid for out of a Government Future High Street Fund grant.
The consultation result showed a clear majority of 54% opposing the proposal.
This opposition was also reflected by the presentation to the Council of two petitions opposing the plan, one of which exceeded 7000 signatures {Note 3} and by resolutions of 3 of the Council’s Scrutiny Committees, which, in the week commencing 25th November 2021, all passed resolutions, “That the Cabinet be recommended to not proceed with the relocation of library services from Central Library”. When the agenda for that Cabinet meeting was produced, the Chair of Scrutiny Co-ordination was move to write a letter of protest to the Cabinet at the manner in which the views of the Scrutiny Committees had been treated {Note 4}
Despite all of this opposition, the 8 member Cabinet resolved, at its meeting on 7th December 2021, to “Note the recent consultation undertaken and approve the relocation of the town centre library offer from Central Library Building into Stockroom”.
As if that decision did not itself show disdain for the views of the people of Stockport and for the Council’s scrutiny process, what happened next was an outrage. After 7 Councillors ‘called-in’ the Cabinet decision to the Scrutiny Committee, the remit of which covers the Library, Service and Pubic Engagement, that committee resolved to refer the matter to a meeting of the full 63 member Council {Note 5}.
The full Council meeting took place on 13 January 2022. It resolved by a clear majority to object to the Cabinet decision and to call for it to be rescinded.
On 1 February 2022, the Cabinet reconsidered its 7 December decision. It voted unanimously to reject the objections of the full Council meeting and to reaffirm its decision to end the 108 years of use of the Carnegie building on Wellington Road South as Stockport's Central Library and to replace it with a so called "21st century library" in refurbished retail units in the Merseyway shopping centre.
The discussion took only 15 minutes. It began with the Deputy Cabinet Leader's assertion, "This is an Executive decision" - he brazenly reminded us of the governance system in Stockport. This is that the power, on all but a few reserved decisions, rests with the Cabinet members chosen by the Cabinet Leader. The current Cabinet comprises 8 members but the Cabinet Leader has the discretion to appoint just 2 should he/she desire to do so.
Our 63 elected representatives - the Council - can make representations, can object to decisions, as it did in this instance - but it has no power to stop the appointees ruling.
The discussion ended with the speech of the Cabinet Leader, who began with some patronising and insulting swipes at the motivation of the Elected Council members {Note 6}
The full Council does however, have the power to remove the Cabinet Leader and hence to unseat the appointed Cabinet by resolution of a Council meeting. To defend democracy within Stockport the Members whom we the voters of Stockport elected to the Council should do precisely that.
References
1. https://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/documents/s192245/Article%207%20-%20The%20Cabinet.pdf
2. https://consultation.stockport.gov.uk/policy-performance-and-reform/central-library-proposal/
3. https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-stockport-s-historic-central-library
4. https://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/documents/b86186/Agenda%20Item%206%20-%20Future%20High%20Streets%20Fund%20-%20Stockroom%20Correspondence%20received%20from%20the%20Chair%20of%20the%20.pdf?T=9
5. https://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=144&MId=28546&Ver=4
6. https://stockport.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/634643/start_time/497000
The Council conducted a consultation exercise, between 23 August and 18 October 2021, entitled, Proposal to move Central Library services to Stockroom {Note 2}. The proposal would end the Borough’s Central Library service in the purpose built Grade 2 listed building in the town centre which was a gift to the people of Stockport (a Carnegie endowment) and which has served us well for 109 years. The Stockroom is a repurposing of vacant retail units in the 1960’s built Merseyway shopping centre, paid for out of a Government Future High Street Fund grant.
The consultation result showed a clear majority of 54% opposing the proposal.
This opposition was also reflected by the presentation to the Council of two petitions opposing the plan, one of which exceeded 7000 signatures {Note 3} and by resolutions of 3 of the Council’s Scrutiny Committees, which, in the week commencing 25th November 2021, all passed resolutions, “That the Cabinet be recommended to not proceed with the relocation of library services from Central Library”. When the agenda for that Cabinet meeting was produced, the Chair of Scrutiny Co-ordination was move to write a letter of protest to the Cabinet at the manner in which the views of the Scrutiny Committees had been treated {Note 4}
Despite all of this opposition, the 8 member Cabinet resolved, at its meeting on 7th December 2021, to “Note the recent consultation undertaken and approve the relocation of the town centre library offer from Central Library Building into Stockroom”.
As if that decision did not itself show disdain for the views of the people of Stockport and for the Council’s scrutiny process, what happened next was an outrage. After 7 Councillors ‘called-in’ the Cabinet decision to the Scrutiny Committee, the remit of which covers the Library, Service and Pubic Engagement, that committee resolved to refer the matter to a meeting of the full 63 member Council {Note 5}.
The full Council meeting took place on 13 January 2022. It resolved by a clear majority to object to the Cabinet decision and to call for it to be rescinded.
On 1 February 2022, the Cabinet reconsidered its 7 December decision. It voted unanimously to reject the objections of the full Council meeting and to reaffirm its decision to end the 108 years of use of the Carnegie building on Wellington Road South as Stockport's Central Library and to replace it with a so called "21st century library" in refurbished retail units in the Merseyway shopping centre.
The discussion took only 15 minutes. It began with the Deputy Cabinet Leader's assertion, "This is an Executive decision" - he brazenly reminded us of the governance system in Stockport. This is that the power, on all but a few reserved decisions, rests with the Cabinet members chosen by the Cabinet Leader. The current Cabinet comprises 8 members but the Cabinet Leader has the discretion to appoint just 2 should he/she desire to do so.
Our 63 elected representatives - the Council - can make representations, can object to decisions, as it did in this instance - but it has no power to stop the appointees ruling.
The discussion ended with the speech of the Cabinet Leader, who began with some patronising and insulting swipes at the motivation of the Elected Council members {Note 6}
The full Council does however, have the power to remove the Cabinet Leader and hence to unseat the appointed Cabinet by resolution of a Council meeting. To defend democracy within Stockport the Members whom we the voters of Stockport elected to the Council should do precisely that.
References
1. https://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/documents/s192245/Article%207%20-%20The%20Cabinet.pdf
2. https://consultation.stockport.gov.uk/policy-performance-and-reform/central-library-proposal/
3. https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-stockport-s-historic-central-library
4. https://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/documents/b86186/Agenda%20Item%206%20-%20Future%20High%20Streets%20Fund%20-%20Stockroom%20Correspondence%20received%20from%20the%20Chair%20of%20the%20.pdf?T=9
5. https://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=144&MId=28546&Ver=4
6. https://stockport.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/634643/start_time/497000
