Labour wants to scrap the mayoral rules it restored two years ago

Labour wants to scrap the mayoral rules it restored two years ago

If you want to sneak news into a council agenda, burying it in a constitutional motion is certainly one way of doing it.

A proposal to scrap Medway’s mayoral points system appears to do two things at once. Firstly, it would stop the Conservatives from nominating the council’s final Mayor. Secondly, it appears to indicate that the current Medway Council will remain in office for an extra year, with no elections to the existing authority in 2027.

Labour backbencher Mark Prenter has tabled a motion to abolish the points system used to decide which political group nominates the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Under the current calculations, the Conservatives would be next in line for the 2027/28 municipal year.

Prenter instead wants to return to a system in which the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected by the full council, following nomination by the largest political group. Labour has a majority in the chamber, so the practical effect is obvious enough.

The motion’s justification is equally revealing.

It says that “in light of the extension of Medway Council’s term ahead of local government reorganisation, there will now be one final additional year before the Council is abolished.” It goes on to argue that, because the points system was designed to operate over the long term, it should not apply to that final year. 

That wording appears to assume something that has not been publicly confirmed until now.

The expectation has long been that local government reorganisation would ultimately result in Medway Council being abolished and replaced by a new authority from 2028. What has been less clear is what happens in the meantime. The current council was elected in 2023 and, under normal circumstances, would face the electorate again in 2027.

Prenter’s motion instead proceeds on the basis that those councillors will continue for one additional year, with Medway Council surviving until 2028 before finally disappearing.

If that is correct, it would mean there are no ordinary Medway Council elections in 2027. Instead, voters would likely elect members of a shadow authority covering north Kent preparing to take over the following year.

That may prove entirely accurate. It is, however, the first time that expectation appears to have found its way into a formal Medway Council document.

It also explains why Labour suddenly wants to revisit a constitutional argument it believed it had settled only two years ago.

The points system is designed to spread the mayoralty between political groups over time. Each group accumulates points according to the number of councillors it has. When it reaches the top of the table, it gets to nominate the Mayor and Deputy Mayor before having its points reduced, and the cycle begins again.

Under that calculation, Labour’s turn ends with the current Mayor, Cllr Douglas Hamandishe, and Deputy Mayor, Cllr Sharon Jackson. The Conservatives would then be next in line for 2027/28.

Labour would rather that did not happen.

Instead, Prenter proposes deleting the entire points system and replacing it with election by the council. Since Labour controls the council, it would continue to choose the Mayor until Medway Council itself ceases to exist. 

There is, to be fair, a genuine constitutional argument behind that.

The points system assumes there will always be another year for another party to have its turn. Local government reorganisation has rather ruined that assumption. If only one final year remains, Labour argues that it makes more sense for the largest political group to nominate the Mayor than to continue a rotation that will never be completed.

Reasonable people can disagree. The awkwardness comes from who is making that argument.

Medway’s points system originally operated between 1999 and 2009 before being abolished by the Conservative administration. Labour spent years arguing that decision was wrong, unsuccessfully attempting to restore the system in 2019 before finally doing so after taking control of the council in 2023. 

The officer report accompanying that decision noted that the points system had originally been adopted because it was considered “the fairest and most appropriate system”. 

Two years later, the fairest and most appropriate system has apparently become considerably less fair and appropriate.

There is another curiosity in the way this change is being proposed.

When Labour restored the points system, the administration asked officers to prepare a formal constitutional review. That report explained the history, legal position and implications before councillors voted on the changes. 

This time, the proposed constitutional rewrite has arrived through a motion from a Labour backbencher.

The route is perfectly legitimate. Council rules require that any proposal to amend the constitution be automatically referred to the next ordinary council meeting before it can be debated.

Even so, it is an unusual way to initiate a constitutional change of this significance.

Asked why the proposal had been brought forward in the first place, a spokesperson for the Labour Group said only, “The introduction to the motion lays out the rationale.”

The Conservatives have no intention of letting the irony pass unnoticed.

Opposition leader George Perfect accused Labour of making “yet another u-turn.”

He said, “Yet another u-turn, after spending years berating the Conservative Group for using the same system, demonstrates their complete inability to take decisions and then stick to them.”

“I am, of course, disappointed for our group not to have the chance of electing a Mayor and Deputy for the final municipal year,” he said.

“This change says more about the state of the current Labour and Co-operative Group and their group leader’s lack of control of his group than anything else, and we will be voting against this motion.”

By then, councillors should also know whether the motion is right to assume that Medway voters will not elect a new council in 2027.

If so, it would be an unusual way for residents to learn that next year’s expected local elections are not happening. Constitutional housekeeping does have a habit of hiding the interesting bits in the small print.

HMS Saxifrage set to leave Medway for dismantling

The end may finally be approaching for the First World War warship hidden inside Chatham Docks.

Last week, Local Authority reported that campaigners feared HMS Saxifrage, also known as HMS President, could be forced to leave its berth in Basin 3 unless a new home could be found. Since then, the situation has deteriorated sharply.

Medway’s hidden First World War ship faces uncertain future

The campaign to save HMS Saxifrage, plus care home for Innovation Park site, active travel proposals and a busy events weekend

Local AuthorityEd Jennings

The vessel is now due to be towed to Erith and dismantled later this month after the company that has effectively been keeping it afloat said it had run out of alternatives.

ArcelorMittal Kent Wire has told the Q-Ship Society that the ship must be removed as the company closes its Chatham operation and prepares to leave the docks. It says an independent survey found the vessel to be in very poor condition, with extensive deterioration and asbestos throughout, making any long-term restoration highly complex and prohibitively expensive.

The letter also reveals quite how precarious the arrangement has become.

ArcelorMittal agreed to berth HMS Saxifrage at its premises in 2016, with the approval of the port authority. But according to the company, the ship’s owner failed to meet the costs involved.

“The owner of the ship did not pay the mooring fees they were obliged to pay,” the letter said.

ArcelorMittal says it has instead covered the mooring fees itself, as well as the installation and ongoing operation of bilge pumps needed to keep the vessel safely afloat. For much of the past decade, in other words, one of Britain’s rarest surviving warships appears to have remained above water because a wire manufacturer was paying the bills.

The company announced in December that it would close its Chatham site because of what it described as the severity and scale of the challenges facing the business. It is now in the final stages of leaving and says it would breach its lease and statutory obligations if HMS Saxifrage remained behind.

ArcelorMittal says it explored several options, including discussions with the port authority and the landlord, but was unable to find a viable way to relocate the ship. It now intends to have HMS Saxifrage towed to a specialist facility in Erith, where it will be dismantled in accordance with safety and environmental regulations.

“This is an outcome we regret,” the company said. “We recognise the strength of feeling that many people have towards HMS President.”

It added that, after considering the alternatives, dismantling was “the only responsible course of action within our control.”

The Q-Ship Society has responded with what amounts to a final appeal.

The group has spent several years campaigning to preserve HMS Saxifrage, one of only three surviving Royal Navy warships built during the First World War. It had hoped to secure a permanent berth at Collier Wharf in Gillingham, where the ship could become the centrepiece of a maritime heritage attraction.

That proposal never progressed, and the society is now urgently seeking a temporary or permanent home to prevent the move to Erith.

It is appealing to museums, maritime organisations, heritage trusts, councils, private benefactors and members of the public for facilities, expertise, sponsorship or financial support. The society says the ship may be only days away from being lost.

“The clock is ticking,” it said. “Once this vessel is gone, it can never be replaced.”

Unless a credible alternative emerges within days, HMS Saxifrage will be towed from Chatham to Erith and dismantled later this month.

Council matters

Meetings next week:

• Thursday: Council meets to discuss fire station closures, budget amendments, councillor allowances, and the aforementioned changes to the mayoral system.

New planning applications:

• Conversion of a storage building into a gym in Luton.
• New HMO applications for Charter Street, as well as two different applications next door to each other on Copenhagen Road in Gillingham.

In brief

🟢 Almost a year after we revealed the bitter infighting that tore through the Medway Green Party, its former chair Matthew Broadley has found himself back in the news. The Telegraph this week reported that Broadley received a police caution for common assault following an incident involving teenagers at the 2018 Labour Party conference in Liverpool. The newspaper says the Green Party was aware of both the caution and the wider allegations before Broadley was selected as a candidate in last year’s Kent County Council elections. Broadley disputes significant elements of the allegations, while the Green Party said it had “previously considered issues relating to past allegations” and continued to ensure “relevant processes are checked.” We approached the Medway Green Party for comment but received no response before publication.

🗣️ ITV decided to ask voters in Gillingham what they thought of Andy Burnham.

🗄️ The Independent Group has shared that the planning appeal by the developer of a proposed 800 homes north of Wainscott has been dismissed.

🪧 The Independent Group has also had a change of leadership, with leader George Crozer standing down from running the group. The new leader is Michael Pearce, with Elizabeth Turpin as deputy.

📞 Bellway Homes has been told to stop phoning members of Medway's planning committee ahead of votes on one of their developments.

🗳️ Medway Council leader Vince Maple has been elected as the new Chair of Key Cities, a cross-party network representing 22 of the UK's largest and most economically significant urban areas outside the major metropolitan centres.

🚌 Kent Country have launched a new Cliffe to Bluewater bus service.

Property of the week

This Grade II listed end-terrace on Mansion Row in Brompton is on the market for offers in excess of £475,000 and is doing quite a lot at once, with four bedrooms, four floors, two bathrooms, two reception rooms, a courtyard garden, and the general air of a house that has seen several versions of Medway come and go. It has the period fundamentals you’d want from this sort of place, with sash windows, tall rooms, old proportions, and enough character to justify its listing status, but the layout still looks practical rather than precious. There’s a kitchen and dining room on the ground floor, a lounge and bedroom above, another bedroom and dressing room below, and two more bedrooms at the top with rooftop views. Parking is the less romantic bit, with residents’ permits and the option to rent a rear garage, but that is part of the deal when you buy into one of Brompton’s older terraces. Lots of character, plenty of space, and just enough everyday usefulness to keep it from feeling like a museum piece.

Check out this 4 bedroom end of terrace house for sale on Rightmove

4 bedroom end of terrace house for sale in Mansion Row, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 for £475,000. Marketed by Springbok Properties, Nationwide

Rightmove.co.uk

Events this week

🍒 Sat 11 Jul - Vines Cherry Picnic // Bring a picnic and enjoy local cherries and family activities. The Vines, Rochester. Free.

🎭 13 - 18 Jul - Duncan Rand One Act Play Festival // 53rd edition, bringing theatre groups together in friendly competition. Medway Little Theatre, Rochester. Tickets £11.

🎶 Thu 16 Jul - Arts and Harmonies // Music and arts themed games night with prizes organised by Medway Can Sing CIC. Holcombe Sports Club, Rochester. Tickets £8.

🎸 Fri 17 Jul - Space // Pioneering English indie rock band from Liverpool. Three Sheets to the Wind, Rochester. Tickets £23.50.

Footnotes

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