Labour asking councillors absent from budget meeting to support cuts
LABOUR is asking Nottingham councillors absent from the city’s recent budget meeting to sign a statement confirming they would have backed brutal cuts.
Eleven Labour councillors did not attend the annual budget meeting at the Council House on March 4, with reasons including childcare and work commitments.
The long meeting eventually saw Labour councillors approve the budget, which contained measures including the closure of care homes and the end of support for venues like theatres. Despite the budget passing, Nottingham Labour made clear it was only approving the budget due to “constraints” imposed on it by the Government.
The council had been told by the Government that it had to agree with the final budget as it was presented by the council’s finance officers.
Labour also said they expected councillors to approve the measures given the authority has a legal duty to pass a balanced budget.
Yet the severity of the cuts saw the Sheriff of Nottingham, Councillor Shuguftah Quddoos, defying those orders and becoming the only councillor at the meeting to vote against the budget.
She was immediately suspended from Labour and now,the national party is emailing the 11 absent councillors. The Post understands that the East Midlands office of Labour is reporting back to the party’s national governing body about the budget meeting. In producing that report, it is understood the regional office is asking the 11 absent councillors to sign a statement confirming they would have voted for the budget if they were at the meeting.
The move has reportedly angered many Nottingham councillors given the impact that the budget cuts will have in the city.
Councillor Sajid Mohammed said at the meeting that some of his colleagues had considered resigning over the budget.
Councillor Mohammed opened his remarks by acknowledging that people in the council chamber were “hurting”, adding: “I’ve had friends and colleagues crying. They weren’t sure if they were going to turn up today.
“They wanted to resign.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Conservative mismanagement of the economy, alongside a failure to provide adequate funding for local government, has resulted in Nottingham City Council being faced with difficult budget decisions.
“The council has a duty to set a legal and balanced budget and we expect all Labour group members to support proposals to set a responsible and legal budget.”