Minister rejects unitary local government bid for Somerset

A LIBERAL Democrat bid to abolish West Somerset Council and seize control of all local government services throughout Somerset has been thrown out by the Government.
The emphatic rejection of Somerset County Council’s plans for a single unitary authority in the county follows a county-wide referendum which saw 82 per cent of respondents vote against the idea.
The Department for Communities and Local Government had set five criterion which it said any unitary bid would need to meet in order to be successful, one of which was that there should be a broad cross section of support for the proposal.
Another criterion was to be affordable – but an independent assessment of the plan showed it would have cost ratepayers £7 million rather than saving them money as claimed by the Lib Dems.
The unitary bid was opposed in a joint campaign by all five of Somerset’s district councils and all five MPs who represent the county in Parliament.
West Somerset Council leader, Councillor Keith Ross, warmly welcomed the Government decision.
Councillor Ross said: “I am pleased that the voices of local people have been heard, and their wishes respected.
“I appreciate that the Government wants us to improve the current two-tier system and look forward to working with our partners in the district councils and at the county council to achieve this.”
In the recent referendum on unitary status, 200,000 people voted, almost half of the county’s population and more than took part in local government elections in May. Just18 per cent of those who voted were in favour.
West Somerset and the other district councils argued the county authority’s proposals would involve the creation of a mammoth council, a giant new bureaucracy, more red tape, and the abolition of local councils, leading to less democracy and more remote councillors.
Lib Dem county councillors ignored the county-wide referendum and tried to defy the result right up to the end by refusing to withdraw their unitary bid.
The present leader of the county council, Councillor Jill Shortland, who recently took on the role after Councillor Cathy Bakewell stepped down just months after she had launched the bid, said: “The news that our bid to create one council for Somerset is not being taken forward by the DCLG is very disappointing.
“However, the business of providing excellent services to residents will continue with full pace.
“I truly hope that we can re-engage with our district council partners to look for new ways of working closer together through local area working, where many opportunities exist to empower Somerset’s communities.”

Independent election ‘scam’ is probed

NEXT month’s elections for West Somerset District Council could be declared invalid and ‘Independent’ candidates and their supporters investigated for ‘electoral fraud’, The Crier can reveal.
It follows the backing of ‘Independent’ candidates by the Liberal Democrat-sponsored residents’ organisation Direct.
The chairman of Direct, Arthur Philips, has published posters and other literature urging local residents to vote for the ‘Independent’ candidates.
But Mr Philips is not an ‘election agent’ for any of the candidates and spending money on such campaigns could therefore be in breach of the Representation of the People Act 1983, which states only the candidate, election agent, and those authorised in writing by the election agent can incur election expenses, while anybody who ‘incurs, or aids, abets, counsels, or procures any other person to incur any expenses in contravention of this section ... shall be guilty of a corrupt practice ...’.
The issue has already been raised with the Electoral Commission and with the West Somerset Returning Officer Tim Howes.
The correspondence, which The Crier has seen, expresses concern that “there is an ‘electoral deceit’ being perpetrated on local voters by those Independents who are a part of this, as they are not Independent but are actually part of a collective political movement and are hiding this fact from the electorate.”
The move follows recent revelations by The Crier that ‘Independent’ candidates could be seen to be a party in themselves as they were being coached and guided centrally and were inherently linked with the Liberal Democrat movement.
This view was reinforced when the candidates were announced and it was seen that the Liberal Democrats were apparently not fielding any candidates except their two most well-known characters in Carhampton and Watchet.
The ‘Independents’ had “by coincidence” all declared themselves in such a way that none were fighting each other for seats.
In single seat wards, there was only one ‘Independent’, in two seat wards there were two ‘Independents’, and so on.
It has prompted claims by opponents that an electoral ‘scam’ was being tried out on voters by any ‘Independent’ involved in the collective decision-making and campaign.

County council axes seafront market

THE long-running Minehead seafront outdoor market has been axed by Somerset County Council.
The authority has decided not to grant the market operators a licence this year.
County council spokeswoman Jan Hookings said it was ‘because of the planned redevelopment of the station site’.
The Liberal Democrat-run county council is due to press ahead with an industrial and leisure development of the site beside Minehead’s railway station which will use the land on which the twice-weekly outdoor market has been held.
There was controversy previously when West Somerset District Council proposed a similar scheme for the site and local residents demanded the market should be kept.
The controversy partly gave rise to the creation by the Liberal Democrats of the residents’ group Direct, which organised a protest march against the scheme.
Direct, which is now actively supporting ‘Independent’ candidates in next month’s local council elections, has not similarly fought the county council’s plans.
A Continental market held in Minehead recently proved a big success with shoppers flooding into the town centre.
Photo submitted.

Lib Dem power grab bid 'shockingly unpopular'

PLANS by Somerset County Council leader, Councillor Cathy Bakewell (pictured), to abolish West Somerset Council and for all local government services to be taken over by her Liberal Democrat group have been given a massive vote of no confidence by the public.
Across Somerset, people opposed Councillor Bakewell’s plans for a new super-size council by more than three-to-one, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the YouGov polling company.
The survey showed that for every person who thought the scheme wouldl lead to lower Council Tax bills, a staggering 10 people believed it would actually lead to higher council taxes.
The result compares with one of Councillor Bakewell’s main arguments in favour of the super-size council, which she says would save money.
Key findings from the YouGov poll included:

• 67 per cent of respondents thought it was a bad idea to create a large, single unitary authority for the whole of Somerset
• 61 per cent thought local services (such as street cleaning, road maintenance and refuse collection) would be worse under the county council’s plans
• 63 per cent thought the county council’s plans would weaken democracy in Somerset
• 74 per cent thought council tax would go up if there was a unitary council

The poll findings dealt a serious blow to Councillor Bakewell’s power grab ambitions as the recent Government White Paper on local government reform said any proposals for change had to carry popular support.
Given the likelihood Councillor Bakewell’s proposals would lead to a migration of jobs away from smaller towns in Somerset towards the regional centre of Taunton, respondents were also asked if they thought the plans would be good or bad for the economy of Somerset outside of Taunton.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents 4thought the plans would be bad.
West Somerset Council leader, Councillor Christine Lawrence, who is opposed to the unitary bid, said: “This poll is the most comprehensive and independent test of public opinion that has been held in Somerset.
“It shows quite clearly that the county council’s plans are shockingly unpopular.
“You really would have to try quite hard to come up with proposals that were more unpopular than this.
“Against this background, I simply cannot see how the Government could allow the county council to proceed with these reorganisation plans.” Photo submitted.