Leader is ‘taking each day at a time’ as Government announces appointees
NOTTINGHAM City Council’s leader says he is “taking each day at a time” after commissioners were appointed to run the authority.
Councillor David Mellen says he has not yet decided whether he will put his name forward to be Nottingham’s leader again, with the city’s Labour group due to confirm a year-long leadership team following an annual meeting in May.
Councillor Mellen, who took over the running of the city council from Jon Collins in 2019, said he wanted to avoid “conflict” with the commissioners, who he is due to meet for the first time early next week. Confirmation that three commissioners were being sent into Nottingham was given by the Government yesterday.
They have been appointed for two years and will cost up to £510,000 a year plus expenses.
One opposition councillor says the news shows the city’s financial failings are “coming home to roost”, but Nottingham’s three Labour MPS say the move “undermines local democracy.”
Asked whether he would be happy to serve as the city council’s leader under commissioners, Councillor Mellen said: “I’m taking each day at a time really. Today’s been a busy day and continues to be. The Labour group has an annual cycle of elections and there’s a regular review of who is in what position.”
Labour is set to remain the largest party at the city council until at least 2027 following last May’s local elections. Every year, the group meets to decide who its leadership team will be for the next 12 months and Councillor Mellen says he does not know whether he will put his name forward for leader again.
Reflecting on his time in charge, Councillor Mellen said the appointment of commissioners is not the only situation he did not foresee when taking on the role. He said: “There’s been many of those – the covid pandemic, intu going bust, the castle trust going insolvent – amongst other things.
“It’s not been particularly easy, but I’m one of 50 Labour councillors and it’s very much a team running things. It’s not just about the leader.”
The Nottingham Liberal Democrats have called for Councillor Mellen and other senior council leaders to sacrifice some of their pay to meet the cost of commissioners.
The city council leader says cutting allowances would not be enough to pay the commissioners, adding: “It’s an extra expense that we would probably not want to have and that’s why in terms of the Government’s decision to appoint them for two years, we want to welcome them and see them go within that period – not just to restore democratic control but to reduce that cost on the council.” Councillor Mellen has previously outlined his opposition to commissioners being appointed and says he will now speak with colleagues at councils in Liverpool and Birmingham to see how they have worked with them.
The city leader says the commissioners will need time to “acclimatise” to Nottingham and when asked what he thinks the working relationship will be like, he said: “Time will tell. “Clearly it would be better if there was a productive, working relationship [rather] than continued conflict, but we need to work out what the parameters are and the role that councillors will have in the new regime. “The aim is to improve the situation for the people of Nottingham and we might come from different angles on that, but hopefully that is a shared aim.”
I’m one of 50 Labour councillors and it’s very much a team running things. It’s not just about the leader.
David Mellen