Hastings Conservatives accuse Labour of ‘avoiding scrutiny’

Cllr Rob Lee, leader of the Hastings Borough Council Conservative group, has criticised Labour following confirmation that the authority has cancelled a full council meeting set to take place in September.

The meeting would have been the first full council meeting to take place since the beginning of the coronavirus restrictions in March, with a previous meeting cancelled in July.

Cllr Lee said: “They couldn’t seem to get the technology to work over the summer so I agreed to have the July meeting replaced by a meeting in September; they now say they can’t do that either. 

“It is very much beginning to look like the Labour leadership of Hastings Borough Council are avoiding scrutiny, which is not a surprise given their poor record so far. 

“This is sadly another example of Labour letting down Hastings and St Leonards, if they cannot run a virtual meeting by now why should the public trust them to run their town?”

The authority has not had a full council meeting since March, although it has held smaller meetings of some of its committees during this time. These include the council’s cabinet and overview and scrutiny committee. 

Most other councils in the area have held full council meetings during this time, however.

According to a council spokesman, the decision to postpone a trial full council meeting in July was delayed “due to staff and councillor availability”.

A council spokesman said: “The council is committed to transparency and democracy. It has been holding virtual meetings since early May, including cabinet, planning and licensing committees.

“Videos of these meetings, and associated documents, can be found on the council’s website. These meetings are live streamed and anyone can follow along. A calendar of upcoming meetings can be found on the council’s website.

“The full council meeting, involving all 32 councillors, scheduled to take place on Wednesday 15 July was deferred until after the summer. No specific date was set for it, though it was agreed to do a trial to test the procedures and technology required.

“The decision to postpone the meeting, due to a number of reasons related to the impact of Covid-19, had cross-party agreement. There were no significant items that required a full council decision at the time.

“The trial full council meeting involving councillors willing to volunteer, as well as officers and the Mayor, was due to be held towards the end of July. 

“This trial unfortunately had to be delayed due to staff and councillor availability and will be scheduled shortly. The next scheduled full council meeting is due to be held on 21 October.”

But, Cllr Lee argues that the lack of meetings, when combined with the removal of Conservative councillors from the council’s cabinet in June, has led to a “failure of accountability” on the authority.

For clarity, it is not unusual for councils to have single-party or single-group cabinets, although most authorities – including all those in East Sussex – give opposition members speaking rights on cabinet decisions. 

Cllr Lee said: “It’s a total failure of accountability with opposition councillors being shut out of the council decision-making process altogether. It is undemocratic and simply is not good enough. 

“I call upon the Labour leadership to have a full council in September so that decisions can be scrutinised, and questions asked of the leader.” 

This argument has been disputed by the local Labour Party.

A Hastings Labour Party spokesman said: “Despite the lack of meetings, Cllr Rob Lee has had every opportunity to have his views heard – but rather than offer constructive criticism, he continues in the words of his leader Boris Johnson, to ‘snipe’ at the efforts of the leadership and council staff.”

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