Questions about town and parish councils
Follow Councillor Q&A on X/Twitter

Follow us on X/Twitter

0 votes
If two councillors vote in favour of a motion, and there are two abstentions (meeting quorate with 4 councillors present) would this count as a majority vote in favour of the proposal?
by (180 points)

1 Answer

0 votes
No not a majority, but one of the four will be the chair, who would have the casting vote. Therefore the motion can still be carried or rejected.
by (34.9k points)
Thank you. The chairman abstained and a casting vote wasn't requested. In this case would the motion have been rejected anyway?
The Loc govt Act 1972 section 15 requires the person presiding to give a casting vote. It wasn't a question of a request being made. If the chair failed to give a casting vote they have breached the act.
(3)In the case of an equality of votes in the election of a chairman the person presiding at the meeting shall give a casting vote in addition to any other vote he may have.
Thank you. So as there was no majority vote (even though there should have been a casting vote), I assume the motion is neither carried or rejected?
As things stand it was rejected because it failed to get a majority,   But since the LGA was not complied with, the motion ought to be put before council again at the appropriate time. Depending what the motion was about, it might need to be recorded as a non compliance in the AGAR (Annual Governance & Return, scrutinized by the external auditor).
Thank you. Appreciate your advice.

Welcome to Town & Parish Councillor Q&A, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of the community. All genuine questions and answers are welcome. Follow us on Twitter to see the latest questions as they are asked - click on the image button above or follow @TownCouncilQA. Posts from new members may be delayed as we are unfortunately obliged to check each one for spam. Spammers will be blacklisted.

You may find the following links useful:

We have a privacy policy and a cookie policy.

Clares Cushions logo Peacock cushion

Clare's Cushions creates beautiful hand made cushions and home accessories from gorgeous comtemporary fabrics. We have a fantastic selection of prints including Sophie Allport and Orla Kiely designs and most covers can be ordered either alone or with a cushion inner. Buying new cushions is an affordable and effective way to update your home interior, they're also a great gift idea. Visit our site now

2,895 questions
5,617 answers
7,949 comments
10,028 users
Google Analytics Alternative