Unaminous or majority

Question

When voting on a topic on the agenda does the resolution have to be a majority OR do they have to be unanimous?

We have some who are trying to stop a plan (by submitting yet 'another' observation re lack of parking etc, even though the council says there is enough) and the vote was on a majority of one. Surely something so important and with comments put into the planners portal should be unanimous or ........??!!

Answer 1

Deciding matters by majority voting is the standard way local authorities make decisions. It is established in the 1972 Local Government Act, Part VI, section 39(1), and almost certainly repeated in your council's standing orders. I have some sympathy with the view that very important issues leading to fundamental change shouldn't be decided by a small majority (to pluck an example from the air I might mention the EU referendum) but I suggest that requiring unanimity for council decisions, leaving aside the well established principle of majority voting, is not practicable.

Comments

Thanks Old Tom. Much as I thought. Democracy is fickle is it not?