Lord mayor criticised after ‘most shambolic’ city council meeting
BIRMINGHAM Lord Mayor Mohammed Azim has come under fire after a ‘shambolic’ meeting prompting concerns he is unable to control volatile council debates.
Conservative councillor Deirdre Alden (Edgbaston) issued criticism of the city’s First Citizen claiming he ‘cannot chair a meeting’ and does not understand council rules – the constitution.
It comes after the latest full council meeting on Tuesday where a Tory group motion – calling for compensation for residents who miss consecutive bin collections and spend their own money to clear waste – was not allowed to be debated fully, because of time constraints.
Instead the proposal, which ultimately failed, was formally moved and seconded without comment or discussion.
Now attention has turned to Lord Mayor Councillor Azim who chaired the meeting but required verbal and written instructions from former Lord Mayor and now deputy Yvonne
Mosquito, as well as city solicitor Kate Charlton.
There was a delay of several minutes before the Lord Mayor was able to inform the chamber how the motion would proceed.
Cllr Alden raised her complaint at the co-ordinating scrutiny committee on Friday, describing the handling of the motion as ‘the most shambolic piece of council meeting I have ever seen in my life’.
Although much of
her
criticism was aimed at the ruling Labour group, who she accused of avoiding debate around failing bin collections simply to ‘ go home’ early.
Cllr Alden then turned to the Lord Mayor, who was appointed to the position in May, and said: “I have to say I have great respect for the office of the Lord Mayor but the fact of the matter is, we have a Lord Mayor this year who does not seem to understand the constitution and cannot chair a meeting, and the latter point is crucial for the running of council meetings.
“When it was declared my motion couldn’t be debated he didn’t know what to do and we had a very long and embarrassing wait while it was worked out and explained to him what he should do.”
She also said the Lord Mayor also allowed councillors to ‘stray off the subject’ during another debate when there are ‘strict rules’ to only make comments relevant to Birmingham and council issues.
Cllr Alden then stated that he “needs the authority for people to do what he tells them”.
She added: “I do think something’s got to be done about the council meetings.
“We’ve got two months before we have another one in September and I think what was shown on the internet, the last three quarters of an hour, was a very bad example to this city and we don’t want a repeat of that.”
In response council leader Ian Ward (Lab, Shard End), said: “All Lord Mayors do receive support and training from officers either in the Lord Mayor’s office itself or from officers from within legal services and this Lord Mayor is no exception.”
Lord Mayor Azim has been approached for reaction to the criticism but has not commented.
We have a Lord Mayor this year who does not seem to understand the constitution
Cllr Deirdre Alden