A late change announced yesterday evening deprives Brent opposition parties of time to present their alternative budget proposals at tomorrow's Full Council Budget Setting Meeting. It also reduces the time allocated the the chair of the Scrutiny Budget Task Group.
The new order is set out below with previous timings set out on Monday February 26th in brackets:
- Leader to introduce the main budget report - up to 20 minutes. (15 mins)
- Leader of the Conservative Group (or their nominated representative) to respond and move their alternative budget proposals –up to 10 minutes. (15 mins)
- Leader of the Liberal Democrats Group (or your nominated representative) to respond and move their alternative budget proposals – up to 5 minutes. (10 mins)
- Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources – up to 15 minutes to speak on the budget and alternative proposals that have been moved. (10 mins)
- Councillor Conneely (as Chair of Scrutiny Budget Task Group) – up to 5 minutes to introduce the main outcomes and recommendations within the Scrutiny Budget Task Group report. (10 mins)
These timings will be subject to a Procedural Motion moved at the start of the meeting by the Majority Group Whip. Once the debate on the budget has concluded (for which any members wishing to speak will still have up to 3 minutes each to contribute) the Leader will then have up to 10 minutes (5 mins) to sum up and close prior to the Mayor moving on to conduct separate roll call votes on firstly the alternative budget proposals moved by the Conservative Group and then the Liberal Democrat and then the final substantive budget recommendations, which will all be taken en bloc.
Cllr Paul Lorber, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group said:
This is not acceptable to the Lib Dem Group.This is total abuse of power and should have (but has not been) discussed at the Constitutional Working Group.To increase the time allocated to Labour Leader and others and reduce the amount of speaking time for the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Leaders is a pathetic attempt to suppress democratic debate.The result of the recent Alperton by election clearly shows how unpopular the Labour Party has become in Brent and this action by the Labour Leader is another example of his dictatorial abuse of power.I trust that the Chief Executive will at long last intervene and to stop the nonsense which is turning Brent into a laughing stock.
25 comments:
Believe the last line in blue should say Lib Dem Group Proposals?
But...will anything change?
Yes, thanks for pointing out. Corrected.
Not sure why Bent Butt needs 20 minutes to pontificate, right??
Perhaps the Lib Dem and Tories should just walk out at the 15 minute mark and then return once he has finished his ramblings?
Under Mo Butt, democracy in Brent is Mo-r-bid!
This cannot be right, there has to be a balance of communication and it is disproportionate to reduce to such a degree that matters cannot be challenged if they need to be. What is the basis of reducing the times for others to respond, so that the layman can understand?
The dictatorship in Brent continues and get's worse. Does Butt & co not hear the death nell of their control of Brent? It can be heard clearly across the Borough, and not now just in Barry Gardiner's constituency, it can now be heard in the southern wards of Brent, even Queens Park is hearing rumblings of the demise of Labour nationally, and the dismay with people like Gould being Starmer pets, and without doubt Brent's Labour councillors will find it hard going in 2026.
Why would anyone vote for these Labour Party lackies? We won't again!
Butt has the extra time because his arguments are pathetic
It should only take 2 minutes for the Labour Leader to say "I am very sorry for putting up the Brent Council Tax and cutting your services. The cost of living crisis will be worse and unemployment will rise under a Labour Council, the Labour Mayor and the Labour Government. Yes we Labour made promises of things getting better but only fools would believe anything we say" - so why does he need all that extra time? So expect all the usual incomprehensible waffle to hide the truth from Councillor Butt and his cronies.
The thought of having to listen to Butt makes me feel ill. I am therefore not going to vote for him again, hopefully that will mean we don't have to listen to him in future.
The Lib Dems are throwing a tantrum because they can’t handle the fact that Labour is in charge. Brent’s voters chose a Labour council to lead, and that means giving them the time they need to present and defend their budget properly. Democracy isn’t about giving equal time to the losers… it’s about letting the elected leadership get on with the job.
To be fair they have not asked for equal time, just sticking to the time circulated on February 24th.
The Lib Dem and Tory Councillors are NOT 'losers'! They are elected to represent the residents who live in their wards and they deserve respect!!!
Labour may be running this council but it is our hard earned council tax money they are spending so full scrutiny is needed. And us residents would like to know what alternative ideas the Lib Dems and Tories are suggesting.
If the Lib Dems and Tories had better ideas, maybe they’d have won more seats. Instead of constantly moaning about process, they should focus on putting forward policies that actually resonate with voters. However, these losers have been beaten at each level of government.
Labour till i die,
Oh labour till i die
Brent will be red
Until im on the deathbed
Labour till i die
Please moderate your comments!
If Brent Council Executives and the Labour Councillors have nothing to hide why be so anti scrutiny? And why be so against hearing what other non Labour Councillors have to say???
You should always treat others with respect.
He needs the extra time to explain all his excuses, but because he hasn't actually got any, he just waffles, ie deafens us all with the same old rubbish told in different ways. As for his performance 0 out of 10. Vote Labour again, you must be joking. The problem now is, who to vote for next time, and how do residents of Brent know which Party can beat Butt and family? Perhaps Wembleymatters can guide us?
I hadn't realised that British democracy has now descended into a dictatorship in the London Borough of B~ent, thank you Anon 20.05 for letting us know that Dystopian B~ent continues without listening to anyone but Butt
These Labour Councillors that post on here keep showing their true dictatorial traits and that they don't actually care about all the residents of B~ent.
Butt is hurting after his loss in Alperton. This is his way of sticking two fingers up at the Libdems, showing that he can still do what he likes at Brent Council.
To Anon 23:54,
Respect is earned, and the Tories and Lib Dems have done nothing to deserve it. Every time they’ve had power… whether nationally or locally… they’ve wrecked communities, slashed public services, and made life harder for ordinary people. The Tories have gutted council budgets for over a decade, forcing councils like Brent to make impossible choices, while the Lib Dems happily propped them up in government. They’re not here to help… they’re here to deflect blame for the damage they’ve already done.
Labour believes in scrutiny, but we won’t pretend that failed parties with no real support deserve equal time to dictate the agenda. The people of Brent elected a Labour council to lead, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. If the Lib Dems and Tories had better ideas, maybe they wouldn’t be sat whining on the sidelines. They should focus on winning elections instead of demanding respect they haven’t earned.
Surely it is better to have a balanced council than a council run by a local Labour Group that will simply not listen to the concerns of us local people at all - we local people pay our hard earned council tax to fund local services - we deserve respect not distain and we also deserve a council that respects the ideas that the other parties suggest.
I listened to Butt’s speech online - he spoke with conviction and compassion. He’s the greatest leader Brent has ever had.
Compassion? Taking away council tax reductions for the poorest?
Help, What can we do ??? The Butt dictatorship is so entrenched. Why isn't there a limit on tenure re Council leadership??
LOL
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