Knowsley Council’s ruling Labour Group has been accused of a u-turn by the Liberal Democrat opposition following the decision last night (December 17th) not to hold a referendum on the Council's recommendations for the future structure of education in the Borough.

At a full Council meeting in April the Lib Dems tabled a proposal to commit the Authority to a full and extensive referendum of all relevant stakeholders when the Council's own response to the Schools Commission was finalised.

An amendment to the proposals by the Labour Group, which included the addition of a working party to examine the complexities of the proposed referendum, was agreed unanimously.

But the resolution passed by the Council in April was reversed last night on the advice of the working party, which had failed to produce proposals outlining how such a referendum could be implemented.

Cllr Dave Smithson, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems and mover of the original proposal, said: "The promise made by this Council and supported by Labour Councillors eight months ago has been broken and yet again New Labour has shown that it cannot be trusted to deliver on its promises.

“In our opinion the working party was tasked to examine the proposals and set out recommendations on HOW the referendum could be implemented not IF!  The Local Government Act 2003 gives the local authority the power to hold this referendum so there is no excuse for this not to take place.

“Like their masters in Whitehall, Labour politicians in Knowsley have demonstrated they will promise you anything when there are votes to be won but when it comes to fulfilling those promises it would appear their spin is worth nothing!

“The referendum proposals we sought to implement demonstrates and underlines our commitment to true democracy and real engagement with local communities, a commitment that appears to be sadly lacking from the Labour party in Knowsley.”
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