Changing the number of councillors required to call an EGM

Question

This isn't a question, I already knew the legislation but it's something that will undoubtedly come up for others.
A motion was submitted at the last meeting of my parish council to move to bi-monthly full council meetings and change the number of councillors required to call an EGM "from 3 to 6".

The LGA 1972 says that an EGM can be called by any 2 councillors so I interjected and said this. The clerk (unqualified) said that it could be changed by Standing Orders. I disagreed, the clerk said they would check and the motion was passed.

The draft minutes make no reference to the 6 councillors part of the motion which is not surprising as minutes are often deliberately inaccurate. It has been raised, the clerk says it was withdrawn and the controlling group of course rallied behind them. I asked the clerk of they'd taken the advice and they confirmed they had and only 2 councillors are required to call an EGM.

If you're wondering what the motivation is for changing it to 6, have a guess how many councillors don't belong to the political group that controls the council. And for moving to bi-monthly meetings? Only independents who consistently support the controlling group are allowed on committees and the flow of information outside the controlling group is tightly controlled.

Politically-controlled parish councils are a pox on local democracy.

Answer 1

I don’t doubt your experience but I (as a clerk) have witnessed the reverse - where a political has brought consistency and order to a rag bag of independent councillors.

Comments

It's not the only political council I've been on. The previous one was far more open and welcoming to councillors who weren't in their group. The leadership of this one is incredibly toxic and it's down to politics. It really isn't helpful.