Knowsley’s ruling Labour group has been accused of “resisting scrutiny” after it refused to let opposition councillors chair some council committees.
Plans put forward by Green group leader Kai Taylor would have seen the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship of scrutiny committees divided between the parties based on the overall number of seats they held on the council.
The committees, which are intended to play a key role in holding the council executive to account, are currently all controlled by the ruling Labour group.
Putting forward his proposal at the council’s annual meeting on Friday, Cllr Taylor said: “It’s undeniable that public trust in Knowsley Council is low.
“We as elected members should be doing all we can to modernise the structures of the council to make its business as open and transparent as possible.
“In the forty six years of this borough's history there has only once been a non-Labour mayor, despite the council having elected opposition members for most of its existence.”
Lib Dem leader Cllr Carl Cashman backed the plans but Labour’s finance chief Cllr Jayne Aston said her party had “earned the right from the ballot box” to control the council’s committees.
She said: “The residents of Knowsley have put us in a position of control.”
However, Cllr Aston also emphasised that opposition councillors could still play a role on scrutiny committees.
She said: “I wouldn’t want anyone to be left with the idea that simply because members haven’t been given a position of chair or vice-chair of a committee, they can’t take part in scrutiny.”
But after the meeting, Cllr Taylor told the ECHO: “I’m disappointed that Labour have taken the decision to resist further scrutiny.
“Given that a council officer has been sentenced for defrauding the council of over £250,000, I would expect them to want to work closely with the opposition to ensure that the weaknesses in our financial controls are identified and strengthened.”
His comments refer to former council employee Karen Kavanagh, who was jailed for four years last week after pleading guilty to stealing £260,000 from the council over 11 years.
