Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council leader faces removal vote in election delay row...

[dutchman]

Labour's council leader Chris Watkins will face a vote of confidence during an extraordinary meeting of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council



Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council will vote on whether to remove its leader from office following a row over the potential cancellation of local elections.

Labour's Chris Watkins will face a vote of no confidence on Wednesday after writing to the government to request the elections to the authority be postponed.

He argues elections on 5 May would not be "a prudent use of resources", saying money could instead be used to help prepare for the abolition of Warwickshire's councils, including his own, which are set to be replaced with a new single tier authority by 2028.

But the Conservative motion to be debated on Wednesday accuses Watkins of denying "the fundamental rights of citizens".

If all other parties beyond the Labour group vote together on Wednesday, the leader would lose his position.

If elections go ahead in Nuneaton and Bedworth in four months' time, half of the seats would be up for grabs.

Opposition parties have suggested postponing elections is motivated by Labour's current relative unpopularity in the polls. Warwickshire County Council's Reform UK leader George Finch recently suggested Labour was "scared" of losing seats.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council is currently under no overall control politically, although Labour holds the positions of leader and mayor.

The mayoral position is key, as that post has the casting vote if a vote is tied.

Rugby Borough Council's Labour leader Michael Moran recently confirmed he would also write to the government to ask for elections there to be postponed.

Elections in neighbouring Coventry will take place on 5 May as that authority is not undergoing a restructure and is not eligible to request a delay.

[dutchman]

You have to wonder, surely, how much more-crooked could this Labour administration be?

[dutchman]

Nuneaton and Bedworth council leader sensationally ousted over local election delay letter



Nuneaton and Bedworth Council leader Chris Watkins was ousted during a historic meeting at the Town Hall. A vote of no confidence led to him losing his role as leader.

He was voted out, 19 to 18 last night, Wednesday, January 21).

Coun Watkins, who will remain a councillor and likely on the authority's cabinet, became the first in the country to fall foul of the government's proposal to allow some councils to delay elections.

Coun Kris Wilson, the leader of the opposing Conservative group, called for the extraordinary meeting claiming Labour had denied residents the chance to have their say in local government reform plans.

He told the meeting he 'pressed the nuclear button' because Coun Watkins told the government planned local elections this May should be delayed.

Local Tories, Green Party and the Liberal Democrat councillor are adamant the elections should still go-ahead.

Coun Wilson said it was denying locals their democratic right, leaving him with no choice but to question whether Coun Watkins should lead the council.

The two Green party councillors, Michele Kondakor and Mike Wright as well as Liberal Democrat Rob Roze, were the 'Kingmakers' because the council is no overall control.

Labour has 18 members with 17 Conservatives, so the Green party members and Liberal Democrat vote was crucial in deciding if Coun Watkins should lose the leadership role he had held since 2024.

With one Tory absent, the vote of no confidence saw Coun Watkins out. The Two Green councillors and one Liberal Democrat voted for him to go.

That sparked another vote to decide who the new leader would be. Labour put forward Coun Steve Hey, while the Tories nominated Coun Wilson and the Green Party, Coun Kondakor.

It led to a selection process, with the first round seeing all contenders put up for votes. Coun Kondakor polled the fewest, so was eliminated.

This led to a two way contest between Couns Hey and Wilson. The two Green councillors backed Coun Hey while the Liberal Democrat voted against. But it was enough votes for the former deputy to become leader of the council with 20 votes to 17.

While he refused to go as far as to say he would tell the government they wanted the local elections to go-ahead, he did say he would write to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to say the council had the capability to host elections this May.

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/nuneaton-bedworth-council-leader-sensationally-33278515

[dutchman]

Government abandons plans to delay 30 council elections



The government has abandoned plans to delay 30 council elections in England, following advice this could be unlawful.

Local Government Secretary Steve Reed had approved delays for the ballots until 2027, arguing some councils were worried about the cost of running elections for authorities which are due to be abolished in a major reorganisation of local government.

Reform UK had launched a legal challenge against the plans to delay May's elections, which was due to be heard in the High Court on Thursday.

The move was welcomed by opposition parties, who had branded the delays undemocratic.

Reform leader Nigel Farage, writing on X, external, said: "We took this Labour government to court and won.

"In collusion with the Tories, Keir Starmer tried to stop 4.6 million people voting on May 7th. Only Reform UK fights for democracy."

Asked by BBC London if Reed should resign, Farage said "if a government minister does something illegal, they really ought to resign".

His remarks came after he claimed the decision to approve the election delays was "clearly unlawful".

The government has agreed to pay Reform's legal costs relating to the proceedings, which a party source said would be at least £100,000.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party "fought tooth and nail to stop this stitch-up and the government has been forced into a humiliating U-turn".

He added: "We cannot allow the government to cancel elections on a whim ever again.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was "predictable chaos from a useless government that cannot make basic decisions".

She said her party had opposed the "unnecessary cancellations at every opportunity", writing on X: "This is the right decision.

"A one-year delay to allow new councils to be re-organised is one thing. Two years was always too much."

And yet four of the councils involved were under Tory control and one under Lib-Dem!