Motion to Full Council: Standing United Against Racism and Division
Council notes:
· Recent far-right marches in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole that seek to spread hatred, fear, and division.
· An increase in racist vandalism and graffiti which desecrate our communities and cost taxpayers thousands of pounds to remove.
· The rising tide of racist activity nationally, which is being exploited for political purposes to divide communities.
Council recognises:
· The invaluable work of anti-racist organisations, community groups, and residents who stand in solidarity against racism and bigotry.
· The efforts of Dorset Police in managing demonstrations and addressing hate crimes in a challenging climate.
· That racism, in any form, undermines cohesion, community safety, and the reputation of BCP as a welcoming, inclusive place.
Council believes:
· That racist rhetoric, graffiti, and intimidation have no place in our communities.
· That public resources should be directed towards supporting communities and improving services, not wasted on cleaning up hate-fuelled vandalism.
· That BCP Council must show leadership in building unity, trust, and mutual respect across all communities.
Council therefore resolves to:
1. Publicly denounce far-right marches and racist graffiti in BCP, affirming that hate has no home here.
2. Develop and bring forward anti-racist policies, in partnership with schools, community groups, and faith organisations, to promote inclusion and challenge prejudice.
3. Strengthen joint working with Dorset Police, community safety teams, and voluntary organisations to tackle racist activity and support victims.
4. Recognise and thank the work of anti-racist groups and campaigners who stand against division and for equality.
5. Request that the Leader of the Council writes to the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, calling for stronger national support and resources to tackle the rise in far-right activity and hate crime.
Motion to Full Council: Opposing Labour’s Digital ID Scheme
The following motion submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules has been proposed by Councillor M Earl and seconded by Councillor R Herrett.
Council notes the recent announcement by Keir Starmer’s Labour Government of plans to introduce a mandatory Digital ID scheme for all UK residents.
Council further notes that the Government’s plan:
Council believes that Labour’s scheme:
Council welcomes the Liberal Democrats’ consistent national opposition to Labour’s ID cards, having previously defeated Labour’s original plans for ID cards in 2010, and opposes Labour’s renewed attempt to impose them in digital form.
Council resolves:
Minutes:
Council was advised that two motions had been received on this occasion.
Standing United Against Racism and Division
The following motion was submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules and was moved by Councillor Peter Cooper and seconded by Councillor Patrick Canavan.
Council notes:
· Recent far-right marches in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole that seek to spread hatred, fear, and division.
· An increase in racist vandalism and graffiti which desecrate our communities and cost taxpayers thousands of pounds to remove.
· The rising tide of racist activity nationally, which is being exploited for political purposes to divide communities.
Council recognises:
· The invaluable work of anti-racist organisations, community groups, and residents who stand in solidarity against racism and bigotry.
· The efforts of Dorset Police in managing demonstrations and addressing hate crimes in a challenging climate.
· That racism, in any form, undermines cohesion, community safety, and the reputation of BCP as a welcoming, inclusive place.
Council believes:
· That racist rhetoric, graffiti, and intimidation have no place in our communities.
· That public resources should be directed towards supporting communities and improving services, not wasted on cleaning up hate-fuelled vandalism.
· That BCP Council must show leadership in building unity, trust, and mutual respect across all communities.
Council therefore resolves to:
1. Publicly denounce far-right marches and racist graffiti in BCP, affirming that hate has no home here.
2. Develop and bring forward anti-racist policies, in partnership with schools, community groups, and faith organisations, to promote inclusion and challenge prejudice.
3. Strengthen joint working with Dorset Police, community safety teams, and voluntary organisations to tackle racist activity and support victims.
4. Recognise and thank the work of anti-racist groups and campaigners who stand against division and for equality.
5. Request that the Leader of the Council writes to the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, calling for stronger national support and resources to tackle the rise in far-right activity and hate crime.
Councillor Stephen Bartlett proposed an amendment to the motion which was seconded by Councillor Karen Rampton to replace the word ‘far-right’ with the word ‘extremist’ so that the resolutions would read as follows: -
Council therefore resolves to:
1.
Publicly denounce far-right extremist marches and racist graffiti in BCP,
affirming that hate has no home here.
2. Develop and bring forward anti-racist policies, in partnership with schools, community groups, and faith organisations, to promote inclusion and challenge prejudice.
3. Strengthen joint working with Dorset Police, community safety teams, and voluntary organisations to tackle racist activity and support victims.
4. Recognise and thank the work of anti-racist groups and campaigners who stand against division and for equality.
5.
Request that the Leader of the Council writes to the Home
Secretary and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and
Local Government, calling for stronger national support and
resources to tackle the rise in far-right extremist activity and hate crime.
The proposer and seconder of the original motion advised that they would not accept the amendment which was therefore then debated.
Comprehensive discussion took place on the amendment during which Councillor Gavin Wright advised that he was going to propose the same amendment.
Upon being put to the vote the proposed amendment fell with voting:
For:13, Against:33, Abstentions:2
Councillor Kate Salmon proposed an amendment to the motion which was seconded by Councillor Simon Bull with the deletions and insertions as set out below: -
Council notes:
· Recent far-right marches in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole that seek to spread hatred, fear, and division.
· An increase in racist vandalism and graffiti which desecrate our communities and cost taxpayers thousands of pounds to remove.
· The rising tide of racist activity nationally, which is being exploited for political purposes to divide communities.
Council recognises:
· The invaluable work of anti-racist organisations, community groups, and residents who stand in solidarity against racism and bigotry.
· The efforts of Dorset Police in managing demonstrations and addressing hate crimes in a challenging climate.
· That racism, in any form, undermines cohesion, community safety, and the reputation of BCP as a welcoming, inclusive place.
Council believes:
· That racist rhetoric, graffiti, and intimidation have no place in our communities.
·
That public resources should be directed
towards supporting communities and improving services, not wasted
on cleaning up hate-fuelled vandalism.
That residents of BCP are losing out as
a consequence of these incidents of hate-fuelled vandalism, which
must be cleaned up at their expense using scarce public resources
which would otherwise be spent on supporting communities and
improving services
· That BCP Council must show leadership in building unity, trust, and mutual respect across all communities.
Council therefore resolves to:
1. Publicly denounce far-right marches and racist graffiti in BCP, affirming that hate has no home here.
2. Recognise and thank the work of anti-racist groups and campaigners who stand against division and for equality. (Moved from point 4 to point 2)
3. Establish a BCP Anti-Racism Partnership Task Group, comprising representatives from schools, community groups, faith organisations, Dorset Police, and anti-racism campaigners, to oversee the development and implementation of anti-racist policies and initiatives and seek external funding to deliver a Hate Crime Action Plan.
4. Support the creation of a publicly accessible Hate Crime Action Plan which outlines specific steps the Council and its partners will take to prevent and respond to racist incidents and support victims, with annual progress reports to Full Council.
2.
Develop and bring forward anti-racist
policies, in partnership with schools, community groups, and faith
organisations, to promote inclusion and challenge
prejudice.
3.
Strengthen joint working with Dorset Police,
community safety teams, and voluntary organisations to tackle
racist activity and support victims.
5.
Request that the Leader of the Council writes to
the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government, seeking a
meeting with relevant ministers to discuss calling for
stronger increased national
support and resources to tackle address hate crime and
far-right activity the rise in far-right activity and
hate crime.
The proposer and seconder of the original motion advised that they were content with the amendments, however upon Council consent being sought to confirm the amendments as the substantive a member indicated that they would not consent, the main body of the Council consented to the amendment which therefore became the substantive motion.
Meeting adjourned at 8.02pm due to a disturbance in the gallery
Meeting reconvened at 8.18pm
The substantive motion was debated as amended and it was resolved as follows: -
Council therefore resolves to:
1. Publicly denounce far-right marches and racist graffiti in BCP, affirming that hate has no home here.
2. Recognise and thank the work of anti-racist groups and campaigners who stand against division and for equality.
3. Establish a BCP Anti-Racism Partnership Task Group, comprising representatives from schools, community groups, faith organisations, Dorset Police, and anti-racism campaigners, to oversee the development and implementation of anti-racist policies and initiatives and seek external funding to deliver a Hate Crime Action Plan.
4. Support the creation of a publicly accessible Hate Crime Action Plan which outlines specific steps the Council and its partners will take to prevent and respond to racist incidents and support victims, with annual progress reports to Full Council.
5. Request that the Leader of the Council writes to the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, seeking a meeting with relevant ministers to discuss increased national support and resources to address hate crime and far-right activity.
Voting: For:34, Against:10, Abstentions:4
Councillor Margaret Phipps left the meeting at 8.25pm
Opposing Labour’s Digital ID Scheme
The following motion was submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules and was moved by Councillor Millie Earl and seconded by Councillor Richard Herrett.
Council notes the recent announcement by Keir Starmer’s Labour Government of plans to introduce a mandatory Digital ID scheme for all UK residents.
Council further notes that the Government’s plan:
· Could require every resident to obtain a Digital ID to access public services and entitlements;
· Could risk criminalising millions of people, particularly older people, those on lower incomes, or those without access to digital technology;
· Raises significant privacy and civil liberties concerns;
· Could result in an estimated £4.6 billion of pounds of taxpayers’ money being wasted on a massive IT project, with no clear benefit or safeguards.
Council believes that Labour’s scheme:
· Represents an expensive measure that will undermine public trust;
· Will do nothing to address the real priorities facing communities such as the lack of economic growth that our country is facing, the cost-of-living crisis that residents in Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole are experiencing, or the problems within public services that have been refused the investment that they need to deliver;
· Fails to protect our core British values of liberty, privacy and fairness.
Council welcomes the Liberal Democrats’ consistent national opposition to Labour’s ID cards, having previously defeated Labour’s original plans for ID cards in 2010, and opposes Labour’s renewed attempt to impose them in digital form.
Council resolves:
· To formally oppose the Labour Government’s Digital ID plans;
· To request the Leader of the Council writes to:
o The Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Minister for Digital Infrastructure expressing this council’s firm opposition to Labour’s mandatory Digital ID system and calling for the plans to be scrapped.
o Members of Parliament across Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole asking for their firm commitment to oppose Labour’s mandatory Digital ID system and ask them to confirm that they will instead advocate for the estimated £4.6b cost to be rediverted in to settling SEND deficits nationally.
· To work with local voluntary, digital inclusion and civil liberties groups to ensure that no resident in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole is penalised or excluded as a result of any national identification scheme.
A number of members spoke on the motion and expressed concern that the motion had been submitted too early as the detail of the scheme hadn’t been announced. In relation to this a member requested that the motion be withdrawn and brought back once the consultation had started.
Councillor Felicity Rice proposed an amendment to the motion to remove the reference to the Liberal Democrats in the final paragraph under ‘Council believes that Labour’s scheme:’
In reference to this Councillor Rice was advised that the paragraph would not be included in the resolutions from Council, and that only the resolutions under ‘Council resolves’ would form the decisions arising from Council.
Council resolves: -
· To formally oppose the Labour Government’s Digital ID plans;
· To request the Leader of the Council writes to:
o The Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Minister for Digital Infrastructure expressing this council’s firm opposition to Labour’s mandatory Digital ID system and calling for the plans to be scrapped.
o Members of Parliament across Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole asking for their firm commitment to oppose Labour’s mandatory Digital ID system and ask them to confirm that they will instead advocate for the estimated £4.6b cost to be rediverted in to settling SEND deficits nationally.
· To work with local voluntary, digital inclusion and civil liberties groups to ensure that no resident in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole is penalised or excluded as a result of any national identification scheme.
Voting: For:23, Against:15, Abstentions:8
Councillor Bobbie Dove left the meeting at 8.58pm prior to the vote on this item.
Councillors Emily Harman and David Martin left the meeting at 9.04pm