The Democratic and Electoral Services Manager introduced the report, explaining that the Local Government Boundary Review would take place and the Council would need to clarify with the Local Government Boundary Commission England (LGBCE) its method of elections. In maintaining the method currently employed, ward boundaries and membership would need to change to facilitate uniform three-member wards. Three options were presented in the report for Members to consider if the decision was made to progress with public consultation.

Debate took place around the decision to move forward with whole council elections. The arguments in favour of proceeding to consultation stage included the reduced cost of conducting whole council elections, with reference made to the Council’s current financial situation. An additional opportunity cost would be a two- to three-month restricted publicity period every year which would be decreased if whole council elections took place.

The arguments against whole council elections included the historic difficulty in finding enough candidates to stand which could impact the democratic process, and the potentially significant loss of experienced Members. Elections by thirds facilitates inexperienced Councillors to benefit from those with experience, and it was argued that it also provided continuity to Committees. A high turnover of experienced Councillors could be particularly problematic to Committees which require its members to receive further training in order to participate. It was further argued that elections by thirds allowed regular opportunity for the public to apply change if there was dissatisfaction with the work carried out by their elected Member.

RESOLVED: That

1.  The impact a boundary review will have on numbers of Members and Wards dependent on electoral cycle be noted; and

2.  The Whole Council Election process not be moved to the consultation stage.