Rushcliffe Borough Councillor Debbie Soloman ( Reform, Newton ward ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to pause Local Government Reorganisation, but says the Conservatives are trying to claim credit for a victory they did not deliver.
Cllr Soloman says the pause follows legal pressure from Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council after the Government failed to provide the evidence and reasoning behind its decision to split Rushcliffe.
She says the County Council escalated the matter through the formal Pre-Action Protocol process ahead of a potential judicial review.
Cllr Soloman said:
“After the Government decided to split Rushcliffe, the Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council demanded the reasoning and evidence behind that decision. When the Government failed to provide it, the County Council escalated the matter through the formal Pre-Action Protocol process ahead of a potential judicial review.”
She contrasted this with the approach taken by Rushcliffe Conservatives, who she said sought King’s Counsel advice but ultimately decided not to pursue a legal challenge.
Cllr Soloman accused the Conservatives of “political spin” after they claimed their petitions had helped force the Government to pause the plans.
She said:
“Their petition didn’t stop Rushcliffe being split. Their strategy didn’t stop the Government choosing the City proposal. But now Reform-led councils take meaningful legal action and suddenly Rushcliffe Conservatives want to claim the victory.”
The Reform councillor also criticised the original LGR proposals, which would have split Rushcliffe, with rural communities facing being placed into an expanded Nottingham City authority.
She said the process had already cost councils significant amounts of public money and created uncertainty for council staff.
Cllr Soloman concluded:
“Once again, Labour created the mess and the Conservatives failed to deal effectively with it. It is thanks to Reform-led County Council there is a pause in this process to re-evaluate the horrendous decision that was hoist on Rushcliffe to split it in two.”
The Government has now paused the Nottinghamshire and Nottingham proposals while it reviews the process following new legal advice.
