News from Plymouth Labour

Plymouth Labour force Council to discuss Citybus sell-off

The Labour Group on Plymouth City Council are so determined to have the issue of Citybus discussed at the next Council meeting on Monday 3rd August that they have submitted TWO motions for debate on the subject.

The first calls for the Council to be given the opportunity to discuss and vote on the next two phases of the sell-off procedure, rather than to the cabinet or individual members of the cabinet. Almost one million pounds would have been spent on consultants and staff time before the council could vote at the end of November.

Labour Group Leader Cllr Tudor Evans said:

“The decision affects the whole city and it should be discussed at every stage by the whole council. It is plain by the public reaction that we’ve seen so far that people are appalled that so much money is being spent with so little debate.”

“People want their views put forward, and that is what we intend to do.”

The second resolution is a more technical amendment, which calls for the next two stages of the sell off plans to be included in the council’s Forward Plan. If Labour succeeds, cabinet members can be questioned on the issue. At present, the proposals to sell off Citybus do not appear in the Plan, which is a legal requirement.

“The Tories put through changes to the council’s constitution saying they wanted to be seen to be open and above board about big decisions. Our resolution gives them an early chance to put those words into practice,” said Cllr Bill Stevens, who seconded the motions.

Other news from Plymouth Labour

• Activists restart Plymstock Party as Labour targets local elections - 12 December 2011
• Plymouth politicians launch petition to keep adventure activities safety law - 6 December 2011
• "Keep Moor View in Plymouth" boundary campaign launched - 7 November 2011