Council in disarray as Labour Party suspends Sheriff of Nottingham
The Sheriff of Nottingham, councillor Shuguftah Quddoos, has been suspended from the Labour Party after voting against the city council’s budget on Monday night.
Quddoos was alone among Labour members in voting against the swingeing cuts made to jobs, social care, community and cultural organisations and youth services. More libraries look set to close in the city and council tax will rise by almost 5%.
In a statement, the Labour Party told the BBC: “The Conservative mismanagement of the economy, alongside a failure to provide adequate funding for local government, has resulted in Nottingham City Council being faced with difficult budget decisions.
“The Council has a duty to set a legal and balanced budget and we expect all Labour group members to support proposals to set a responsible and legal budget.”
Quddoos told the BBC: “When I looked at this budget all I could see was harm to the people I represent.
“We have a lot of young people, people with complex needs, and I couldn’t in all good conscience vote for this budget.”
She added: “I went in with with my eyes open. When you make a difficult decision there is always a price to pay. I knew there was a risk.”
The move comes despite another councillor saying the Labour group weren’t responsible for drafting the budget.
Councillor Steve Battlemuch posted on X, saying: “It is a terrible budget. We as Cllrs didn’t write it, were not allowed to amend it and only voted for it on legal advice that said staff would not be paid if we didn’t. I will continue to campaign for better funding and the cuts to be stopped.”
Last month, The Government has announced that commissioners are to be appointed at troubled Nottingham City Council.
