‘Lord’ Soulsby’s Labour Land Grab

The decision by the Labour Government to expand Leicester City’s boundaries to absorb Oadby and Wigston and parts of Blaby, Charnwood and Harborough into one unitary authority comes as a shock but no surprise. Looking around the country, this seemed to be the pattern developing elsewhere and the noises off suggested that, soon to be Lord, Sir Peter Soulsby would get his own way as his favoured model fits with Labours ambitions to build more new houses.

The areas he has dragged into the City have potential for the building of at least 30,000 new houses and the inclusion of Fosse Park will boost the revenues of the cash strapped City Council.

There are few in the areas being forced behind the city boundary that support this move, including most MPs, District Councils and individual councillors. Neil O’Brian has been particularly vocal and continues to speak out against this undemocratic decision.

Some councils have decided to challenge the Government’s decision in the courts; however, it is certain that any Judicial Review will fail as the courts give ministers great leeway in such matters and in any case can only challenge process not the actual decision itself.

What does this mean for democracy when there is widespread opposition, almost universal but the Minister decides to go ahead anyway?

It seems the only way to challenge this is to take a leaf out of the citizen dissent to the Thatcher Poll Tax and orchestrate a programme of civil disobedience that has the potential to tie the courts up for years and deprive local councils of revenue streams.

Organised mass protests both at Westminster and locally with those being dragged kicking and screaming into the City of Leicester refusing to pay council tax to the city seems the only way forward.