Rotherham councillor numbers cut — by four

There have been regular calls from opposition members for the amount to be reduced by a third - falling from three to two per ward.

The Local Government Boundary Commission has started a review into Rotherham’s boundaries following the intervention after the CSE scandal.

RMBC was asked to put forward a suggestion for the number of councillors in future and has decided on a figure of 59.

The change would mean Rotherham had one councillor per 4,360 residents, compared with one per 6,709 in Sheffield.

Leader Cllr Chris Read said: “Once you start working through how council meets its obligations, we came to the conclusion that 59 was a reasonable number of members.

“It’s a slight reduction on the number we have at the moment but it remains enough to discharge out duties and our democratic responsibilities.”

Opposition leader Cllr Allen Cowles, UKIP, said: “I know the general public have a view that we’re a lazy lot of so-and-sos and we’re only in it for the money.

“The reality is that is not true. Most councillors work quite hard and I think it’s easy for people to make the statement, and I’ve heard it many times, that we’ll simply cut to two councillors per ward.

“But that would be far too easy to do and there’s no evidence available that such a situation would be workable.”

But expenses campaigner and former member Michael Sylvester called the proposal “pathetic” - adding: “It’s just a bit of tinkering for show.

“We regularly see councillors choosing to slash services and fire council employees but yet again they vote to keep themselves in a job.”

He challenged RMBC to put the matter out to public consultation, saying: “We would see what the people of Rotherham think about if their councillors are value for money and productive.”

The boundary commission started its review after the move to all-out elections every four years, which was one of the measures imposed by the Government last year after the Casey report.

A council spokesman said: “A reduction in council size of this nature would not affect the ability of councillors to carry out an effective representational role. 

“It would also not be detrimental to the internal management of the council.”

The next stage of the review will involve more detailed analysis of the actual ward boundaries.