Comments on Cabinets and Executives

I regret to say that I found a commitment on the Lib Dem's website to "Getting the Organisation Right" if they gain control of West Devon Borough Council. It's near the end of their Manifesto section, which you can bring up in a new window by clicking here . They say they will "revisit recent decisions and streamline the Council in earnest."

I read this as code for saying that they would impose an "Executive" or "Cabinet" type of organisation on the council in the interests of "efficiency". I have a strong suspicion that this would be a single-party executive. I base that strong suspicion not only on the fact that the LD leadership in the present council campaigned for a directly-elected Mayor and Cabinet during the referendum that we held recently on the subject, but also on the fact that, when they had effective control in the previous council, they put their own members into every committee chair on the council.
I've mentioned elsewhere how unsuccessful that was in the case of the housing committee. Alas, it seems to be an article of faith to take that sort of control, given the chance.

It's up to you whether or not you choose to give them that chance. Here's why I think it is not a good idea.

West Devon Borough Council has only 31 members. Given the propensity of political parties to stuff candidate lists with "paper candidates" , what do you think the chances are of a single party having enough members to fill all the (say) 10 or 12 "Executive" or "Cabinet" seats with councillors of the right quality to manage a portfolio with executive powers of decision? It may very well be true to say that decisions made by committees can be slow, but they do command the respect of all the councillors that you elect.
Bad decisions made quickly are still bad decisions. I should prefer to keep the committees, which have a better chance of making reasonably good decisions most of the time, even if it takes a little while to make them.

You elect your councillor with the expectation that he or she will have a voice in Council equal to that of all the other councillors. That is not the case in a Cabinet-run council. Only those in the Cabinet have much real say in the decisions of such a council. The rest of the members are relegated to a "scrutiny" role, which effectively means that they are non-effective.

That's another reason why I am determined to stay firmly independent.

If I'm wrong about the coding; if the Lib Dems mean something other than an Executive or Cabinet system by their manifesto statement, I challenge them to email me and say exactly what they do mean. I'll publish their response here. If you get a blank when you click on it, you'll have your answer to my question.


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Published as an Internet document by R W Mathew, Willowby, Down Road, Tavistock, Devon