Petition launched to make South Tyneside Council ‘more democratic and transparent’

The Citizens Assembly South Tyneside (CAST) is asking voters in the borough to sign a petition which calls for a referendum on how South Tyneside Council operates.

It is proposing to end the current ‘leader and cabinet system’ of governance and replace it with a committee system, which would give councillors from all parties a say in what goes on.

Under the current system, the local authority is operated by the Council Leader and a cabinet that is made up of eight other Labour councillors.

It means that there are 26 opposition councillors, as well as other non-cabinet Labour councillors, who do not have a voice when it comes to making key decisions.

CAST is hoping to have any potential referendum to coincide with the next South Tyneside Council elections in 2026.

If carried, South Tyneside Council would be obliged by law to change to a committee structure - with at least five percent of the borough’s registered voters needing to sign the petition for a referendum to take place.

Dru Haynes, the chair of CAST, has revealed that there has been a positive response to the campaign the wake of the launching of the petition.

She said: “We had a fantastic response in South Shields when we launched the campaign.

“Our own online survey of local opinion shows that most people are very dissatisfied with the council leadership and were only too ready to sign our petition.

“It can’t be right that decision-making is concentrated in so few hands. The lack of transparency and democracy is shocking and we need to change that.

“We will be going round the borough over the next 12 months to collect more than the 5,658 number of signatures we need to trigger a referendum.

“It’s an old-fashioned pen and paper job because the law in this instance hasn’t caught up with digital petitions.”

Under the rules of South Tyneside Council’s constitution, the following is needed for the local authority to hold a referendum:

• If a petition of more than 5% of registered electors is received, or a resolution of Council is passed requesting a referendum to another form of executive or alternative arrangements, the Council must draw up proposals and must hold a binding referendum in accordance with legislation. The Council must take reasonable steps to consult with local electors and other interested persons in the area when drawing up proposals for a change from the Leader and Cabinet model.

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Cllr David Francis, leader of South Tyneside Green Group, has stated that the issues raised by CAST are something that voters have also been telling the Green Party.

He commented: “The response to CAST’s campaign reinforces something we’ve been hearing for years – people feel that power has been in the hands of a small group of people for far too long.

“The rapid change to the make-up of the council in recent years has shown that people have a desire for something different but all too often, alternative voices are kept out of the decision making process because of the strong leader and cabinet model.

“A system that allows for better, more representative democracy needs to be explored, to best serve the people we are elected to represent.”

The Shields Gazette has also reached out to Cllr Tracey Dixon, Leader of South Tyneside Council, and Cllr David Kennedy, leader of the South Tyneside Alliance Group for a comment.

You can find out more about CAST by visiting: https://southtynesideassembly.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/CITIZENSASSEMBLYST/.