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<\/p>\nSheffield will be allowed to keep its hard fought-for modern committee system of local governance, after the government U-turned on plans to force all councils across the country to adopt more centralised leadership models.<\/p>\n
In a 2021 referendum, 65% of Sheffield voters backed a move away from the council\u2019s previous \u2018Strong Leader\u2019 model towards a modern committee system where decision-making power is more equally shared among the city\u2019s 84 councillors and 3 main political parties.<\/p>\n
The vote, which took advantage of legislation introduced by the coalition government in 2011, was triggered by the It\u2019s Our City! campaign, set up to reform governance in Sheffield in the wake of the street tree scandal and perceived wrongdoing resulting from overly-centralised power.<\/p>\n
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Hallam MP Olivia Blake said it was “vital that progress is protected”.<\/p>\n
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But despite promising to \u201cdeepen democracy\u201d by \u201cdevolving power to communities\u201d in their 2024 manifesto, earlier this year the Labour government announced plans<\/a> to force councils to scrap the committee system nationwide, calling it \u201cunclear, duplicative, and wasteful\u201d.<\/p>\n This would have forced every council to adopt the so-called \u2018Strong Leader\u2019 model, where all decisions are made by a small cabinet appointed by the Council Leader, which Sheffield had chosen to reject four years ago and which was widely blamed for the \u201cbunker mentality\u201d<\/a> that took hold during the street tree scandal.<\/p>\n Sheffield MPs and councillors reacted with concern about the scrapping of the Committee System, with Labour Council Leader Tom Hunt saying in a statement<\/a> that \u201cthis news comes as a surprise and we were not consulted.\u201d<\/p>\n U-turn if you want to<\/p>\n But yesterday, local government minister Steve Reed partially backtracked on the move<\/a>, putting forward amendments to an upcoming bill that will allow local councils that have moved to a committee system following a referendum to keep their setup for up to ten years.<\/p>\n The move also follows criticism from councillors and democracy campaigners in Bristol, which followed Sheffield in switching to a modem committee system via a referendum in 2022 amid concerns over poor governance in the city.<\/p>\n In Sheffield, we know how damaging it would be to force us back to the old system<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake, and Sheffield Central MP Abtisam Mohamed, welcomed the U-turn, with the latter saying that the city\u2019s committee system \u201chas helped foster more inclusive decision-making, and it\u2019s vital that this progress is protected.\u201d<\/p>\n Blake described the announcement as a \u201cgreat win for the people of Sheffield,\u201d adding: \u201cI\u2019m very pleased that the government has heard our representations and amended the draft legislation accordingly. These changes will only strengthen our local democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheffield\u2019s switch in 2021 was triggered by a petition signed by more than 26,000 people, with the legislation guaranteeing a vote if more than 5% of city residents signed within a year.<\/p>\n Democratic backsliding<\/p>\n The local Greens, who campaigned in favour of a committee system during the referendum and who have benefitted politically from a more even distribution of power within the council, called the news \u201cgood for the council and good for democracy in Sheffield.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Cllr Marieanne Elliot said the original plan showed “a complete distrust in democracy”.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSheffield Green Party.<\/p>\n \u201cSheffielders voted two-to-one to change the system of governance to the committee system,\u201d said their deputy leader, Cllr Marieanne Elliot. \u201cThe government plans for all councils to have a [Strong] Leader and Cabinet shows a complete distrust in democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn Sheffield, we know how damaging it would be to force us back to the old system. The council has worked so much better since the committee system came in. I am pleased to see the government has now proposed amendments to the bill that will allow Sheffield to continue working in the more progressive, democratic way that it has established.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the exemption, which allows councils that have switched in the past ten years (such as Bristol and Sheffield) to keep their committee systems for now, the new legislation still removes the right for citizens in other areas to trigger a vote for change.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the government should allow other populations to learn from Sheffield\u2019s example in the future,\u201d said Cllr Elliot. \u201cSadly, they still intend to entirely remove those rights from other communities and councils. There is still no reference to improving democracy or any real devolution.\u201d<\/p>\n Our committee system has helped foster more inclusive decision-making, and it\u2019s vital that this progress is protected. I\u2019m pleased Ministers have responded to the case we put forward, and I\u2019ll continue working to ensure Sheffield\u2019s governance reflects the needs and voices of our\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/qQF8gyFTWg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Abtisam Mohamed (@Abtisam_Mohamed) November 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n All three main political parties on Sheffield Council \u2013 the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Labour \u2013 made representations to the government to keep the current setup, which were backed by MPs Mohamed and Blake, who were both local cabinet members under the old \u2018Strong Leader\u2019 model.<\/p>\n Although the carve-out for Bristol and Sheffield has been welcomed, the decision to force almost all other councils to adopt a less accountable \u2018Strong Leader\u2019 model is the latest example of democratic backsliding by the current Labour government.<\/p>\n Other efforts to roll back democracy include draconian new restrictions<\/a> on repeat protest marches, the disproportionate targeting of climate and anti-apartheid activists<\/a>, and the proscription of Palestine Action on disingenuous and misleading grounds (both Blake and Mohamed abstained on the vote<\/a>).<\/p>\n Since coming to office, the Labour government have also virtually abandoned plans to reform the wildly undemocratic House of Lords, and have refused to switch to a more democratic and proportional voting system for general elections, despite this being backed by an overwhelming majority<\/a> of party members.<\/p>\n \t\t\n
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