Changes to local ward boundaries are being looked at by the council following a review by the Boundary Commission.
We support making the number of voters in each ward fairer however we do not support the council’s recommendation to keep the number of councillors the same.
It is hardly surprising that the council has made this recommendation. This is because there is not a single Labour or Conservative councillor who would voluntarily give up their seat. We are the only party in Coventry prepared to reduce the size and cost of local government.
We strongly believe the number of councillors in Coventry should be cut from 54 to 36. This is because having 3 councillors in each ward is simply designed to preserve the status quo. By comparison, MPs represent far more residents than local councillors do but there is only 1 MP in each constituency instead of 3.
This can be confusing to residents because they are expected to pick one of 3 local councillors for assistance. However, local residents know that many councillors do not respond because they’re either not interested or too busy with their personal lives.
We also believe that any councillor who thinks they do not have enough time to fulfil the role should stop taking the money and resign immediately. It is simply outrageous for any councillor to say this. What’s more, the council should not be enabling this type of behaviour.
We would prefer two councillors in each ward with one to represent the local area and the other to represent a political group on the council. In addition, we would like elections to be held once every 4 years instead of the current system of every year for 3 years out of 4.
We believe this can help increase democratic participation by making elections a bit simpler and more exciting.