Agenda item

It was moved by Councillor Strutton,

Seconded by Councillor Bedi,

“This Council has lost confidence in the current Leader of the Council, Councillor James Swindlehurst; and we the undersigned hereby call for a vote to be taken to remove Councillor James Swindlehurst as Leader of the Council, under Council Procedure Rule 14.1 ( C ). The motion relates to actions taken and the conduct of the Leader in his role in public office.

Since his election as Leader of the Council, Councillor Swindlehurst has overseen a culture of financial mismanagement which has culminated in Slough Borough Council issuing a Section 114 notice.  The lack of transparency, and internal scrutiny has seen Slough Borough Council come in breach of its statutory requirements in relation to the calculation of the Minimum Revenue Position (MRP). It is symptomatic of an administration led by Councillor Swindlehurst which has seen borrowing quadruple to £760 million, and a projected deficit of £159 million by 2025.

Councillor Swindlehurst has shown himself incapable of accepting internal scrutiny, and of implementing a policy of fiscal prudence.  This Council therefore has no confidence in Councillor Swindlehurst’s ability to take the Council forward as Leader, and to implement the necessary changes to put the Council in a financially sustainable position.  This Council therefore resolves to remove him from his position as Leader of the Council.”

A prior request having been made for the record of the voting:

There voted for the motion:

Councillors Bedi, Kelly, Muvvala, Smith, Strutton and Wright………………... 6

There voted against the motion:

Councillors Ajaib, Akram, Ali, Anderson, Bains, Bal, Basra, Brooker, Carter, A.Cheema, H.Cheema, Dar, J.Davis, R.Davis, Dhaliwal, Gahir, Grewal, Hulme, Kaur, Malik, Mann, Matloob, Minhas, Mohammad, Pantelic, S.Parmar, Qaseem, Sabah, Sandhu, Sharif and Swindlehurst……………………………31

There abstained from voting on the motion:

Councillor D Parmar and The Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor Nazir …….....2

Resolved – That the motion not be carried.