Revolt!
Brentford TV4hEIGHT LABOUR COUNCILLORS BREAK RANK AND ATTACK COUNCIL'S NEW TRAFFIC SCHEMES, LARGELY AGREEING WITH TORY OPPOSITION. They are forcing the controversial strategy – driven forward by the Labour Cabinet – to be "called in" for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. They accuse Cllr Hanif Khan, Transport, leader Steve Curran and others of:1. Inadequate consultation with stakeholders prior to the decisionWard councillors have not been engaged or consulted, particularly on phase 3 (the next stage), which Cabinet has approved, in principle, with this decision.Decisions about Streetspace appear to be made by Cabinet Members and Chief Officers without reference to ward councillors who are the democratically elected representatives of local residents.Other stakeholders, including local businesses and transport providers, also do not seem to have been adequately consulted.2. Inadequate evidence on which to base a decisionThe programme contains schemes based on suggestions gathered from the public from April to June 2020, combined with the aspirations of Cabinet Members and Chief Officers. There is no evidence of traffic modelling or other objective evidence to assess the impact, or feasibility of individual schemes.3. A potential human rights or equalities challengeThe public sector equality duty (PSED) applies when making any changes to road networksIn this instance, many individual schemes are likely to disadvantage residents who cannot easily walk or cycle, particularly older residents, disabled residents and residents with young childrenAlthough para 11.0 says an “initial assessment of potential equalities impacts has been developed”, it has not been published, and the report does not say whether, or not, unmitigated disadvantage to protected groups has been identified.The call-in is now listed for the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, for Monday 30 November, starting at 6pm. It can be watched online. There is also a request for a call-in from Cllr John Todd, Conservative. The agenda says: "Initial Response to Call-in – Lead Members Cllrs Hanif Khan, Katherine Dunne and Guy Lambert."This will be followed by "Members Questions, then Members Discussion and Decision".The rebel councillors are led by Cllr Richard Eason, Isleworth, and are Cllrs Gurmail Lal, Afzaal Kiani, Puneet Grewal, Amrit Mann, Javed Akhunzada, Surinder Purewal and Mohammed Umair. It is unusual for councillors to call in an issue involving their own party. Normally it is resolved internally. But this move has brought the traffic controversy out into the open and exposes dissent in the Labour ranks. More than that, the Labour councillors are agreeing with the criticisms made by the Tory opposition. The fact that it could not be settled internally indicates a deep disagreement which could undermine confidence in Cllr Khan's strategy – and therefore his position – and prompt people to ask why council leader Steve Curran could not sort this out behind the scenes, as he usually would. If the plans are reversed in a significant way, and against his wishes, then Cllr Khan might have to go. The ripple effect would reach out to his schemes' most ardent supporters – Cllrs Curran, Dunne and Lambert – and the Tories would no doubt exploit it to the full. For the Labour administration, it is a fulcrum moment.Brentford Today & TV/Facebook.Image may contain: 9 people, text that says ""Inadequate consultation. May disadvantage older, disabled and those with children." LABOUR SPLIT OVER NEW TRAFFIC SCHEMES Eight Labour rebels attack Cllr Khan's decisions Richard Eason Gurmail Lal Afzaal Kiani Puneet Grewal Amrit Mann Javed Akhunzada Surinder Purewal Mohammed Umair Could Hanif Khan go? Call-in: Decision on cEX 496 Streetspace Programme Overview and Scrutiny November 2020 6:00"
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