They say you can't get turkeys to vote for Christmas, but that is exactly what councillors at Tonbridge and Malling council have done.

By a majority vote of 31 to 13, the borough council has decided to ask the Local Government Boundary Commission to reduce the number of councillors from 54 to 43.

If the proposal is ultimately accepted by the Commission, it means that 11 councillors will automatically lose their jobs at the next borough election, due to be held in 2023.

The Conservative party said the move would fulfil a pledge made to voters in the party's manifesto at the last election in 2019, although in fact council Leader Nicholas Heslop (Con) had originally called for a reduction to just 35 councillors.

The timing of the move was spurred by the announcement by the Commission in January that it would be carrying our a review of ward boundaries in the borough.

The Commission had become concerned that with disproportionate housing growth across the borough, the number of voters represented by each councillor had diverged too greatly.

According to the latest voters registration records, the current average electorate per councillor was 1,821. But Burham and Wouldham Ward had 2,841 electors and two councillors, and is therefore 22% below the average for the borough.

Conversely, Kings Hill Ward has 6,509 electors and three councillors, which is 19% above the average.

For fairness, the Commission aims to ensure that all wards are kept within a 10% margin of the mean, though some disparity is allowed in order to maintain cohesion of particular communities or neighbourhoods.

The Commission's review is a two-stage process. First it sets the number of councillors appropriate to the council, then it sets the ward boundaries accordingly.

The "appropriate number" is the number necessary to maintain good governance and in March the Commission asked the council what that number should be.

The chief executive Julie Beilby and her staff produced a report suggesting 43 was the right number.

The rationale for the reduction was that the council itself had shrunk over the past decade.

Between 2010 and 2020, council expenditure had fallen by 17%, although that was in part because it had outsourced responsibility for its leisure centres to the Tonbridge and Malling Leisure Trust.

Similarly the number of council employees had dropped by 37%, from 353 to 223.

It also argued that the work of councillors had reduced. The number of cabinet members had been cut from eight in 2015 to six.

There had been a 13% reduction in the number of scheduled full council meetings since 2020 and a 6% drop in committee meetings.

There had been a 48% reduction in the number of advisory panels and boards and a 20% drop in advisory board and panel meetings since 2010.

In addition, 21% of all scheduled meetings had been cancelled because of a lack of business.

Furthermore, of the meetings that took place, on average, 20% of councillors due to attend were absent, although the report acknowledged that there was often a high attendance of other councillors as visiting members.

The council also compared itself to 10 other authorities of a similar size and type.

At 53, it had the second highest number of councillors, behind Chelmsford at 57, but above Ashford at 47 or Winchester at 45.

There was also the question of cost.

The council's independent Joint Remuneration Panel, which determines the size of councillors' allowances had noted that: "The number of councillors in Tonbridge and Malling is high in comparison with other Kent councils and so the total cost of basic allowances is also high at £285,000 a year."

It said: "This needs to be reflected upon in an environment where councils are being forced to cut budgets for services."

The panel noted that both Canterbury City Council and Shepway District Council had reduced the number of their councillors, from 50 to 39 in Canterbury, and from 46 to 30 in Shepway.

Jeremy Whittaker, the council's economic regeneration manager, said: "These indicators clearly point to a reduction in the size of the council."

But not all councillors agreed.

Cllr Mike Taylor (Independent Alliance) opposed the move saying a larger electorate would reduce councillors' ability to properly represent their residents.

Cllr Mark Hood (Green) said councillors were "The eyes and ears on the ground" and any reduction would adversely affect the level of representation.

He said a comparison to other boroughs was not helpful, because they had often more town or parish councils than Tonbridge, helping to represent residents' views.

Cllr Nick Stapleton (Lib Dem) asked: "Why are we significantly dropping the number of councillors when our population is growing?"

He said that council work was far more than just attending meetings.

Cllr Wendy Palmer (Ind Alliance) said: "The quality of decision-making will be compromised by the amount of work that will have to be done by each councillor."

Cllr Frani Hoskins (Lib Dem) said: "All the 'evidence' presented refers to council meetings. What matters more is our casework, which is not getting lighter, it is increasing."

Cllr David Thornewell (Lib Dem) said: "Comparing us to other councils is not helpful. Local councils should make their own decisions. We know what is best for Tonbridge and Malling."

He said a higher number of councillors was necessary because of the disparate nature of the borough.

Cllr Michelle Tatton (Lib Dem) said: "Voters are much more aware of what we do in our communities than in council meetings. The work we do often sucks up some of the case-load that would otherwise land on officers' desks."

But cabinet member Cllr David Lettington said: "I'm not sure why fewer councillors means less democracy as some councillors are suggesting.

"On that basis, why aren't they are asking for an increase in the number of councillors?

"Yes there will be an increase in councillors' casework, but they will have fewer meetings to attend."

Cllr Piers Montague (Con) said he had never met a voter yet who thought that what the borough needed was more councillors.

Cabinet member Cllr Martin Coffin (Con) said: "We are now in a digital age which has made communication much easier. Representation will not be affected."

The voting split on party lines, with 32 Conservatives in favour, 13 Lib Dem, Green, Labour and Independent Alliance members opposed.

Two Conservatives, Cllr Roger Dalton and Howard Rogers, abstained. Lib Dem Timothy Bishop was registered as an abstention after he lost connection during the remotely held meeting and missed the vote.

Six councillors were absent from the meeting.

The Local Government Boundary Commission has subsequently accepted the council's recommendation of 43 councillors.

The figure would mean that with forecast population growth, by 2027, each councillor would be representing 2,484 electors.

The Commission is giving the public 10 weeks to give their views on the figure.

It said: "We expect all submissions regarding the future council size of an authority to address three broad aspects of a councillor’s role - strategic leadership, accountability and community leadership.

"As all local authorities operate under different contexts and circumstances, we are of the view that there is no ‘one size fits all’ council size based on population.

"In the case of Tonbridge and Malling, the Commission was persuaded by the evidence presented by the borough which argued that a reduction in councillor numbers would still allow for the effective functioning of the council."

A reduction in numbers is not compulsory. The Commission is currently undertaking a review in Medway, where it has proposed an increase of four councillors to 59.

A review is also about to start in Maidstone.

It is not proposed to alter Tonbridge and Malling's four-year cycle of elections.

A public consultation starts today (Tuesday) and will run until July 19.

Cllr April Clark (Green) said the four opposition parties all intended to make submissions arguing against the reduction.

The Commission is also interested in hearing views on which communities should be part of the same ward to help it draw up the subsequent ward boundary proposals. It suggested people might like to comment on which issues do neighbouring communities face that they have in common, such as high numbers of visitors or heavy traffic?

Have there been new housing or commercial developments that have changed the focus of communities?

Are there roads, rivers, railways or other features that people believe form strong boundaries between neighbourhoods?

The commission's chairman Professor Colin Mellors, said: "We want people in Tonbridge and Malling to help us.

“We are starting to draw up new wards for Tonbridge and Malling."

"We want our proposals for new electoral arrangements to reflect communities. We also want them to be easy to understand and convenient for local people.

“Residents and local organisations can help us understand community ties and identities at this early stage of the process.

“Just tell us what you think and give us some details why you think that. It’s really simple, so do get involved.”

“It’s easy to get involved. Go to our website. Or you can e-mail us at reviews@lgbce.org.uk or write to us at

Review Officer (Tonbridge and Malling)

LGBCE

PO Box 133

Blyth

NE24 9FE

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