Cllr mccord speech 30AUG18

1
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Mr Chairman, I think it is sensible to remind council what the resolutions I am proposing and what they all mean.
Resolution 1 – do we submit anything to the Secretary of State in reply to his letter of invitation – yes or no.
Resolution 2 – will fall away if the answer to 1 is no, if the answer is yes we want to submit something, then this is saying do you want to submit the document that has been worked up by all eight councils to date, entitled Northamptonshire Local Government Reform
Proposal, 31 Aug 2018.
Resolution 3 – do you want to make some resource available to fund the next steps, bear in mind that even if we say no to submission, to date, five others have said yes, there will be next steps, this IS happening
Resolution 4 – this is the establishing of the management and governance arrangements for those next steps and spending of the money.
In summary, shall we respond, if so with what. Shall we make funds available and if so ensure they are properly managed and governed.
P a g e 1 | 10

2
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Mr Chairman as Wellingborough and Northampton have added a minor amendment to resolution 3, that the delegation to the Chief Exec is in consultation with the Leader, I propose that we add that as an amendment also.
Mr Chairman, this is an extraordinary position to be in.
I’m about to invite you and council to vote in favour of a course of action that will see this council abolished.
Who’d ever have thought that we’d be in this position?
Within the papers we have the PWC analysis, what I
find interesting in their report is that SNC is at the right end of every table.
Top of the ones we want to be top of, and bottom of those we want to be bottom of.
Ours is a council of which we have every right to be proud.
We haven’t just pursued growth, we have ensured quality growth from housebuilding to our economy.
P a g e 2 | 10

3
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
We haven’t just talked about strong communities, we have invested in them, from our grants programme to the new pool about to open in Brackley.
We haven’t just paid lip service to our environment, we have led the way with 61% recycling rates at the top end of the national league table.
We haven’t just talked a big game on efficiency, we have saved millions – tens of millions – by sharing services top to bottom with our Cherwell neighbours.
Sitting here, in this chamber embodies all of that.
A former semi derelict area of the town regenerated, a community space in the mount, The Forum and the opened up water meadows. Our economy, environment and community all strengthened by our presence, our policies and our actions. And even our fiercest critics at the time, now admit that what has been delivered is of the highest quality.
And just like on this site, where clearance was required prior to rebuilding, do not view this as turkeys voting for Christmas, rather a little creative destruction. We need to sweep away the, inefficient, ineffectual,
P a g e 3 | 10

4
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
bankrupt uselessness that is NCC and replace it with something new.
Over the past couple of days, Northamptonshire
County Council, Wellingbrough, Kettering, East
Northants and Northampton Borough have passed these proposals.
Tonight, we meet as does Daventy and Corby.
I attended the meetings in Wellingborough and
Kettering, Cllrs Bignell, Breese, Cooper and Steve
Clarke have been to the other meetings to listen to the debates. We all find the same, no one wants to do this, but all accept that given the situation we are in, we have little choice.
At each of the five meetings members have expressed great sadness, anger and frustration, but also a determination to move on and make this work.
There are some wanting to make political capital from all this, whether it comes up to the ORS standard of a good deal of opposition, I have no idea, but I do know that through all the bluster and fury, no one has offered credible alternative solution. I will happily consider it should one come forward tonight.
P a g e 4 | 10

5
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
The choice facing us now is both stark and clear cut.
We either vote to go along with the almost inevitable conclusion of two new unitaries, in so doing stand a good chance of positively influencing the future services our residents receive, or else, we vote to shout angrily at the tide demanding that it stops coming in.
My heart longs to protest loudly and proudly at the iniquity of this appalling situation; to vent my fury at the guilty men and women elsewhere who have led us down this appalling path; and to man the barricades in defence of our council and its services, defend our reserves and lack of debt, of which we are so rightly proud.
But, what would that achieve?
For me, this battle between my heart and my head has to be decided one way or the other by one factor alone: what is in the best interests of our residents, our businesses, and our communities?
P a g e 5 | 10

6
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
I absolutely respect people in this chamber and beyond who are opposed to this way forward.
I think you’ll all have a very clear idea by now that I see no joy in it whatsoever either.
I particularly want to acknowledge the 98% of Town and Parish Councils at this end of the County who said that they don’t want our area lumped in with
Northampton. I don’t either given a free choice, and incidentally, they don’t want us.
But we need to balance that opposition from the
Parishes, against the same level of support from the
Chamber of Commerce all bar one said have two councils.
No doubt we will all latch onto something in the ORS
report to support any view.
We can argue til the cows come home about what the consultation results actually mean.
P a g e 6 | 10

7
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Most are in favour of fewer councils, but there’s no overwhelming consensus on whether that number should instead be one, two, or three.
One unitary isn’t an option and nor is three – the
Government could not have been clearer about that.
We all know that.
We might not like it, but we do know it.
Even after reading the consultation results, one thing is clear. We have to decide – we can’t sub-contract that, and no-one can pretend that the mixed bag of consultation results forces us to jump one way or the other, so let’s not pretend that this nettle doesn’t need to be grasped.
To get some guidance I return to the aims and objectives in our business plan, as a council we stand to protect, serve and grow.
So this is my question that I ask of myself and everyone in this chamber tonight
P a g e 7 | 10

8
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
– how will your vote help protect and preserve the interests of local people ;
Help serve our residents and communities;
And help grow the local economy and promote this area?
My answer to that overriding question is that those interests of our residents will be better served by us taking our seat around the table. By being able to make the best of this situation as the huge amount of work begins to plan delivery of vital public services that will shape our area for generations to come.
A vote against, would, in my view, cast us out to the side-lines, and in so doing deny our communities the voice that they, need and deserve. A voice they elected us to put on their behalf.
Chairman, despite my fury and at times gloomy mood
– I do still have a sense of hope and optimism that mustn’t be entirely lost.
There are opportunities that we must not let slip away, approval means we can turn immediately to seize that opportunity and get the best possible outcome.
P a g e 8 | 10

9
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
If there is one thing that does give me huge confidence for the future, it is this certainty:
our local communities have a strength that comes from our shared values; our environment is of unparalleled natural beauty that makes this one of the best places in the UK to live; our local economy is growing, and will continue to do so because of the strength of the entrepreneurial spirit; and, the public servants we are privileged to work with have a dedication and commitment to our residents’ best interests that will survive any organisational change.
Mr Chairman, It is therefore with a heavy heart, but a clear mind, that I propose the motion on tonight’s agenda paper and ask council to support the resolutions and bring the South Northants values, culture, and thinking, bring South Northants attitude, accountability and quality of service to this problem and start these councils on the right path,
P a g e 9 | 10

10
Speech to Council Thursday 30 August – LGR – Ian McCord
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
so we continue to protect, serve and grow.
I move the motion.
On summing up
Thanks to officers and members
P a g e 10 | 10