Source: The Sentinel
10th March 2009
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The Government is expected to intervene in the running of Stoke-on-Trent City Council within days. Ministers are holding daily talks about the crisis gripping the authority. And an announcement is expected on what action Whitehall will take over the council's rejection of proposed all-out elections. |
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The news comes as the authority is still reeling from the arrests of elected mayor Mark Meredith and councillor Roger Ibbs as part of a police investigation into alleged council corruption. The national media attention has heightened fears that the Government may take drastic steps to ensure political stability in the city. A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said Whitehall was "ready" to take action to see that the city is run properly. He said: "While this matter is in the hands of the council and the legal authorities, we are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to enable the people of Stoke-on-Trent to have the effective council which they deserve." While the police investigation has brought intervention closer, it was the council's deadlocked vote in January over switching to all-out elections that first raised concerns in Whitehall. The proposal was a key recommendation laid down last year in the highly critical Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission report on the state of the city's political system. After failing to secure the necessary two-thirds majority backing from councillors, Mr Meredith instructed interim council manager Chris Harman to urge the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears, to impose whole-council elections in 2011. Mr Harman told councillors last week that he is still awaiting the Minister's reply. When asked whether the risk of intervention had increased following the elected mayor's arrest, he said: "We are keeping the Government Office for the West Midlands informed of events." But a senior Labour Party source, who did not wish to be named, said Whitehall is waiting to see how the council responds to its current crisis before taking action. He said: "Intervention is likely to be in the form of forcing the city to hold all-out elections. But if the council shows it is incapable of managing itself then they will step in." Mark Fisher, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, said: "The three city MPs have been having almost daily conversations with Hazel Blears and [Local Government Minister] John Healey. "They are keeping a very close eye on things and the recent events here will not have helped the situation." |