Sandhurst Liberal Democrats Councillors Boycott Unnecessary Extraordinary Council Meeting
At the full Sandhurst Town Council meeting on June 25th of 16 councillors in attendance, the vast majority (11) voted not to discuss the Reform motion regarding: ‘The continued uncertainty surrounding BFC plans to work towards becoming a Council of Sanctuary, Sandhurst Town Council states its opposition to the proposal.’
11 democratically elected Councillors from all three parties voted that this motion was out of scope under the operating rules that Sandhurst Town Council follows and not to debate it.
Despite this democratic decision, on July 2nd all Councillors received notification from the Mayor of an extraordinary meeting, for 7th July. This was after pressure from the original requestor, unhappy that the motion had been denied. 11 cross party councillors saw no valid reason to give it a platform and debate an issue that STC has no control over.
The Liberal Democrats wrote to the Conservative Mayor (who voted in support of debating the motion on the night), asking what legal basis he had to ignore a decision voted on by 11 councillors. To date no reply has been received.
A vote has already been held at Sandhurst. Bracknell Forest Council has also stated that no work is continuing towards obtaining the status.
There is no uncertainty.
There is no reason for a debate.
There is no valid reason for an Extraordinary Council Meeting that would only enable a Reform representative to air their divisive views. None of our Councillors, who give their time freely to serve the community, have any wish to waste their time on a dead issue. As a result, no LibDem Councillors will attend the meeting.
Personal Statement from Councillor Chris Ives:
I am one of the Lib Dem councillors who did not attend the extraordinary council meeting on Tuesday. My understanding is that the matter to be discussed was not part of the role of the town council. The standing orders make it clear that unless it is a statutory duty, only matters that ‘specifically’ affect Sandhurst Residents are part of that role. If there had been proposals for asylum seeker accommodation in Sandhurst, clearly that would have been a proper thing to discuss. However, there is no evidence of any such proposal. The matter that was discussed was not even taken forward by the Borough Council. It was a non-issue.
Personally, I have views on the Borough of Sanctuary scheme which I heard had been explored by some Borough councillors. On hearing about this interest in the scheme at Borough, I did what any Sandhurst resident could have done and made my views known to Borough councillors. Whether that had any effect on BFC thinking, I do not know. However, as far as I am aware, the scheme was never formally proposed as council business. Those present at the STC extraordinary meeting, amended the motion, and the Mayor, to his credit, spoke of the inclusiveness of Sandhurst and its diversity, and welcomed more recently arrived residents. However, that does not seem to have had much effect on some commentators here, whose insulting comments make it clear that the motion has had its intended effect, in inciting unwarranted anger about a non-event to further the proposer’s political aims.