Agenda item

General and Local Elections 2015

It was moved by Councillor Julie Dore, seconded by Councillor George Lindars Hammond, that this Council:-

(a)       thanks the people of Sheffield for using their vote in the General and Local elections on 7th May 2015;

(b)       notes that 21 out of the 28 seats that were contested in the local elections were won by the Labour Party and places on record its thanks to the people of Sheffield for their continued support for the current Administration;

(c)        further places on record its thanks to all officials working on the election, who made sure that it was conducted smoothly and efficiently;

(d)       welcomes all new Councillors to the Town Hall and congratulates Sheffield’s new MPs, Harry Harpham and Louise Haigh, on their election to Parliament;

(e)       welcomes the efforts taken by the Council to maximise voter registration, particularly in light of Individual Electoral Registration, and notes that Sheffield has received recognition, particularly for the work with the universities to encourage students to register and resolves that work remains ongoing to encourage as many people as possible to register to vote; and

(f)        resolves to continue to work to improve levels of voter registration in the City and to encourage further engagement with local democracy.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Joe Otten, seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the deletion of paragraph (b);

2.         the deletion of paragraph (d) and the addition of a new paragraph (d) as follows:-

(d)       welcomes all new Councillors to the Town Hall and congratulates all Sheffield’s MPs on their election to Parliament.

3.         the relettering of paragraphs (c) to (f) as new paragraphs (b) to (e).

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

It was then moved by Councillor Jack Clarkson, seconded by Councillor Pauline Andrews, as amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of paragraph (b) and the addition of a new paragraph (b) as follows:-

(b)       notes that 21 out of the 28 seats that were contested in the local elections were won by the Labour Party, however, although the Labour Group on the Council thanks the electorate, (i) believes that the Group implies and gives the impression that all the people of Sheffield voted for their continued Administration, (ii) believes this to be a blanket statement by the Labour Group and not a true reflection of how the proportion of the electorate voted, and (iii) furthermore, notes that although the Administration was retained, it was without growth, and that only one group on the Council (U.K.I.P.) increased its vote, resulting in an additional City Councillor.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

It was moved by Councillor Robert Murphy, seconded by Councillor Brian Webster, as a further amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the addition of new paragraphs (b) and (c) as follows:-

(b)       notes the parliamentary majority achieved by the new Government on just 36.5% of the vote;

(c)        notes the large majority on Sheffield City Council maintained by the current Administration on just 41.1% of the vote;

2.         the relettering of original paragraphs (b) to (f) as new paragraphs (d) to (h); and

3.         the addition of new paragraphs (i) to (n) as follows:-

(i)         notes the petition of nearly half a million signatories submitted to 10 Downing Street just 11 days after the General Election calling to 'Make seats match votes';

(j)         agrees with Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society, who said “This election delivered the least proportional result in history. That’s because our two-party electoral system cannot cope with the fact that people want to vote for a variety of parties. It’s time we had a fairer voting system that accurately translated votes into seats in Parliament.”;

(k)        believes that the First Past The Post electoral system is becoming increasingly out of date with the refusal of large sections of the public to support the two main parties;

(l)         believes the current system is no longer a representative democracy and effectively disenfranchises millions of voters and encourages millions more to believe their vote would be meaningless;

(m)      supports the campaign by the Electoral Reform Society and Unlock Democracy for a more proportional voting system in all UK elections; and

(n)       directs that a copy of this motion is sent to all Sheffield MPs and the leaders of the two largest parliamentary parties.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

Following a right of reply by Councillor Julie Dore, the original Motion was carried, as follows:-

Resolved: that this Council:-

(a)       thanks the people of Sheffield for using their vote in the General and Local elections on 7th May 2015;

(b)       notes that 21 out of the 28 seats that were contested in the local elections were won by the Labour Party and places on record its thanks to the people of Sheffield for their continued support for the current Administration;

(c)        further places on record its thanks to all officials working on the election, who made sure that it was conducted smoothly and efficiently;

(d)       welcomes all new Councillors to the Town Hall and congratulates Sheffield’s new MPs, Harry Harpham and Louise Haigh, on their election to Parliament;

(e)       welcomes the efforts taken by the Council to maximise voter registration, particularly in light of Individual Electoral Registration, and notes that Sheffield has received recognition, particularly for the work with the universities to encourage students to register and resolves that work remains ongoing to encourage as many people as possible to register to vote; and

(f)        resolves to continue to work to improve levels of voter registration in the City and to encourage further engagement with local democracy.

(Notes: 1. Councillors Richard Shaw, Rob Frost, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Roger Davison, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Steve Ayris, Denise Reaney, David Baker, Katie Condliffe and Vickie Priestley voted for paragraphs (a) and (c) to (f) and against Paragraph (b) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.

2. Councillors Aodan Marken, Brian Webster, Robert Murphy and Sarah Jane Smalley voted for paragraphs (a) and (c) to (f) and against paragraph (b) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)