England’s newly-created councils: common sense or gerrymandering?
The elections on 2 May will be the first for some new councils in England, created following the merger of predecessor local authorities. Newington takes a look at what these new councils are, what is likely to happen at the elections and crucially why they were created in the first place.
New councils
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Dorset
East Suffolk
Somerset West and Taunton
West Suffolk
Why were these new councils created?
The newly-created councils that will elect for the first time in May have all come about as a consequence of decisions by their predecessor councils to merge with neighbours.
The mergers will reasonably be presented as administrative common sense. Many of the councils have been sharing staff and services for several years anyway and they will argue that merger is the logical next step to help reduce waste and protect services like parks, road repairs, libraries, children’s services and social care. The new Somerset West and Taunton Council estimates it will save £3.1million per year as a consequence of merger, vital at a time of huge financial pressure on local government.
But cynics will say there is also a political motive for the mergers. They will argue it is no coincidence that almost every council that is merging currently has a Conservative majority and that the almost certain outcome in each of the new councils is a Conservative majority. Creating large councils in rural areas will have the effect of probably securing Conservative control for the long term and removing power from the grasp of other parties. ‘Gerrymandering’ is certainly a phrase that has been used by some in the context of these mergers.
Take Weymouth and Portland, one of the predecessors for the new Dorset Council. The Conservatives were the largest group with 16 of 36 councillors and while they led the administration of the council, there was in theory a majority of other councillors that could have stopped them doing so. By joining forces with several neighbouring Conservative controlled councils the Conservatives will likely ensure that Weymouth and Portland will no longer have the threat of control by another party.
Waveney District Council is another example, a predecessor of the new East Suffolk Council. At the last elections in 2015 the Conservatives secured a majority of 27 out of 48 councillors. Labour were the main opposition with 20 councillors, a very substantial group. Indeed Labour has always been a significant force in Waveney having a majority on the council from 1990 to 2002 and holding the parliamentary seat from 1997 to 2010. The merger with solid Conservative Suffolk Coastal will end any prospect of a serious challenge to the Conservatives in the new authority. It is no doubt for this primary reason that the Labour Party in Waveney opposed the merger (though publically they pointed to the lack of local connections between the two main towns in each council – Lowestoft and Felixstowe). We also understand Labour touted a merger of Waveney with Great Yarmouth Borough Council as an alternative, which would have been much more winnable for them.
Conclusion
It is likely that these will not be the last mergers of councils in rural areas. There is certainly a strong argument for doing so – sharing staff and services and saving money.
But it is difficult to escape the conclusion that there are political motives behind such mergers also, which would appear to benefit the Conservatives for the most part.
