Labour administration’s secret plan to use public consultation to generate ideas to attack the use of public libraries.
Birmingham Local Conservatives have lambasted the sham consultation on the future of community libraries in the city after it was revealed that internal field titles, designed to be hidden from the public, included a label on ‘ideas to attack the use of libraries.’ The field title, which can be seen on the HTML source code for the webpage, as well as (mistakenly) when a PDF is generated, was also marked as ‘hidden’ to keep it from public view. The revelation adds weight to a feeling of public disillusionment with the consultation and the sense it is not being run in good faith.
Cllr Robert Alden (Con, Erdington), Leader of the Opposition and Birmingham Local Conservatives, said,
There has already been a lot of anger and disappointment from residents, concerned that this consultation is little more than a box-ticking exercise, with Labour’s minds already made up to close the libraries after they voted for the budget cut last month. Libraries are the heart of our local communities, often housed in listed buildings like in Erdington, providing valuable services for the young and old alike. The lack of notice for online events, some libraries missing from the original list, a lack of specific information, and residents banned from speaking at the consultation events all add to the sense that the Labour Council are desperate to close libraries across Birmingham. Now we learn that they appear to be directly using the consultation to generate ideas to attack the use of libraries.
Cllr Alden called on the Labour Leader of the Council, John Cotton, to pull the consultation in light of these revelations, a request that was refused. Cllr Alden added,
It appears that this consultation is not being run in good faith and residents deserve better. I hope that having taken time to consider the issues I have raised, Cllr Cotton will agree that it is simply not credible to claim that this consultation as currently being run, will offer residents a genuine chance to have their voices heard and that it is time to go back to the drawing board.
Birmingham Local Conservatives had previously put forward a budget amendment that would have seen all libraries across the local authority area saved, but Labour councillors voted against this.
Cllr Ewan Mackey (Con, Sutton Roughly), Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Birmingham Local Conservatives, said,
We have shown that it is possible to save libraries if there is the political will to do so. Sadly, it seems Labour are intent on ploughing ahead with their destructive plan and are even using underhand tactics to get the ammunition they feel they need to close them.
The name of the this field has subsequently been changed to "Ideas to attract use of libraries".
