A Liverpool councillor is calling on the local authority to break the law over government rules dictating how to hold council meetings.
Lib Dem councillor Richard Clein said rules meaning councillors had to attend meetings in person while MPs could appear remotely represented a double standard.
Legislation allowing council meetings to be held remotely during the pandemic lapsed earlier this year and was not renewed.
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It means in-person meetings have returned in most cases and are being held with measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, with social distancing in place.
Councillor Clein, who was elected to represent Cressington at this year’s local elections, said the rapid spread of the Delta variant in Liverpool and elsewhere should cause the government to look again at the rules.
He said: “This is yet another example of this government’s double standards when it comes to keeping people safe by not allowing elected members across the UK to attend meetings virtually even though they themselves don’t have to go to Parliament.
“Ministers talk about new laws to make working from home a right but have withdrawn the right for a council meeting to be held virtually.
“They seem to make the rules up as they go along and it’s no wonder that many people are acting like the pandemic is over with masks on the school run becoming less common and social distancing almost non-existent.”
Councillor Clein called on other members to follow his lead and refuse to attend council meetings in protest at the current rules.
He said: “With its refusal to rule out a fourth lockdown it’s time for elected members across the UK to take a stand and send a message to this government that the safety of the people we serve should come first.”
Liverpool Council has rejected councillor Clein’s call to switch to virtual meetings and said it would continue to abide by current regulations surrounding council meetings.
A spokesman said: “We are abiding by the regulations that the government has put in place and in accordance with the legislation, elected members are required to attend meetings in person to take part and vote.”
An MHCLG spokeswoman said: “The Government has published updated guidance highlighting how councils can minimise the risks of face-to-face meetings and provided unprecedented emergency funding to councils to help them manage the impact of the pandemic.
“We are considering responses to a Call for Evidence on remote meetings and their use during the pandemic; we will publish our response in due course.”
