A COUNCIL committee has voted to adopt a “more democratic” model and weaken the power of the council’s leader and cabinet.

The move to strip away Wirral Council’s leader-cabinet model by May 2020 was passed as it gained the support of every opposition member. They outnumbered Labour members, all of whom abstained.

The council’s current model gives great power to its leader and cabinet, but the model has been slated by opposition councillors for leading to bad decisions made without proper scrutiny.

The move passed by the constitution committee supported changing to a committee system, which spreads power more evenly across the council.

Chairing the meeting, Conservative Councillor Tony Cox, said: “The current form of governance doesn’t actually endear people to work that collaboratively. I think we have the opportunity to make a genuine change to how the council is actually run and the oversight we have as members.

“I know there’s members who have been told in the past, basically go and look yourself. That should not be allowed to happen again.”

Leader of the Independent Group, Cllr Moira McLaughlin, said: “The system has taken us down the wrong road. First of all the cabinet system, but also the strong leader model. We didn’t have a say, it was given to us, we had to do it. That model led us up the wrong road.”

Guidance given to the council said moving to a committee system would cost between £70,000 and £200,000, but Cllr McLaughlin thought that was worth it.

She said: “This is about returning to a more democratic approach and sometimes you have to pay to do that.”

The system that would replace the leader-cabinet model was discussed. Liberal Democrat Councillor Dave Mitchell set out the aims of the new system, which included improving openness and transparency, access to information and scrutiny of the budget.

All councillors accepted that change was coming, the argument was over the date. Labour members wanted to delay the change until May 2021, but the opposition parties wanted the change brought in by May 2020.

Labour Councillor Paul Stuart, said: “I accept that changes are coming and I don’t have an issue with that. My concern is genuinely down to the time, the implementation of getting the new constitution drawn up.

“The representative of the Local Government Association (LGA) raised an eyebrow at the idea that was going to be done within six months, he advised that 18 months to two years is typical.

“Even our own director of governance and assurances said that in an ideal world it would be given 18 months and he would be able to draw up something specific to Wirral. The six month time scale means [it will be] an off the shelf constitution that he can implement in time for May.

“My genuine concern is having it rushed, we should be doing this once and getting it right.”

Labour Councillor Janette Williamson, cabinet member for finance, said: “I’m the only cabinet member here, so this affects me slightly more. However, I do recognise the demand for change and the need for change, but I am concerned at the pace at which it’s being suggested.

“I think we have to accept the advice of what it’s going to cost us. I think we have to own this, I think if this comes in at the highest end, £200,000, or even £70,000, we have to find this from somewhere.

“We should think about the pace at which we’re doing this and I think there will be costs incurred and I don’t think we can dismiss that advice.”

Opposition councillors disputed this, with many questioning why greater costs had been assumed for areas such as administration of committees. A council officer explained that the potential for extra committees and meetings would form part of the predicted costs of this structural change.

Green Party Councillor Christopher Cooke, said the £200,000 maximum cost of the change was a similar amount to that which would be saved by the decision to scrap the Wirral View, the council’s newspaper.

Heads were nodding among the opposition when Cllr Phil Gilchrist, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “I take the view that we need to get on with things. People want to know what the cabinet actually does, what the council does.

“As things stand the council can only comment on things the cabinet does, [the council] can only ask them [the cabinet] to consider something and look at it again. The council’s powers at the moment are not what the public expects them to have and we need to put it right.”

A motion to change the governance model will be put to a vote at a full council meeting on October 14.

If carried, a new constitution for Wirral Council will be written and in place for May 2020.