Suffolk County Council leaders, Andrew Stringer and Matthew Hicks, disagree on Suffolk's devolution vote.
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00:00What do we want? Democracy! When do we want it? Mayday!
00:04What do we want? Democracy! When do we want it? Mayday!
00:08What do we want? Democracy! When do we want it? Mayday!
00:12To join or not to join the government's devolution priority programme,
00:16that was the choice Suffolk's county councils had to make yesterday.
00:20But joining meant postponing this year's local elections in May.
00:23Those in support called it a necessary step in making sure Suffolk got the best deal possible.
00:28Others said it robbed residents of their right to vote.
00:32It's almost surreal today. I've been at many debates in this chamber
00:37since I was first elected as a district councillor back in 2003.
00:41And today feels like the most important debate I've ever been involved in.
00:46It's almost like democracy is on the agenda here today and the future of it,
00:50certainly the future of it here in Suffolk.
00:52And it's why it's so important that when you see on an agenda
00:56the possibility of cancelling an election to give people a mandate to carry out these works,
01:01we really need to challenge that. And that's what we'll be doing today.
01:04They could just have the election. It will not stop anything coming forward.
01:08It won't stop devolution. In fact, it will give it a mandate
01:12and actually could make it come here faster and more efficient.
01:16Whenever the answer to a question is less democracy, I challenge that question.
01:22It's the price of democracy that's on the ballot today.
01:24It costs about a pound per person to vote in a county council election.
01:29I think a pound is not a price too far for democracy.
01:35Inside the council chamber, a full crowd of residents and district councillors
01:39gathered to listen to what ended up being a two and a half hour fiery debate
01:43which saw most county councillors get a crack at the whip.
01:50Today was really good. We had a great debate. It was robust.
01:53It was varied. We had lots of differing views.
01:56But it's about the opportunity that this brings.
02:00The Labour government is very clear. It wants mayors.
02:03It wants two-tier authorities to go through reorganisation and to have uniters.
02:07And that's going to happen. And I would rather we were at the front of the queue
02:11discussing with government, working with government,
02:13rather than it just happening to us at a later point.
02:16So government is clear. It wants us to apply by tomorrow if we're interested.
02:20And what they've asked for is a business case to be ready by the summer of 2025.
02:25And it is their perception that you cannot run local government elections
02:29alongside that rapid pace of change that they want.
02:33So it's not our decision. The decision on delaying elections is nothing
02:36that the county council has influence over.
02:38That will be a ministerial decision made in Whitehall by government.
02:42And we have to respect that. So it's not something I can influence.
02:46What I do know is I want to be ambitious.
02:49I want Suffolk to be at the top of the list.
02:51I want us to take that opportunity so that we can deliver for our residents.
02:55Despite disagreements, and although much of the detail is still missing,
02:59there is one thing every councillor agreed on.
03:02Last night's decision might have been the most important for some time.
03:06So we can see on the screen, 74% voted yes, 26% voted no, and 9% voted yes.