The Courant of September 3 with its front page headline “It’s all gone a little bit North Korea” shed light on disarray at Northumberland County Council.
The Cabinet resignations and the sidelining of the chief executive involve loss of expertise in key areas such as education, public health and adult services, as well as financial costs.
For this to happen during the pandemic is indefensible. It is timely to bear in mind that the county council is currently led overwhelmingly by a patriarchy of white males.
Evidently the political system allows such an outdated and flawed situation to persist.
Fifty one per cent of the population of Northumberland is female.
The party controlling County Hall has 32 councillors, only seven of whom are female.
As showing on the county council website, the Cabinet is all male and the business chair and civic head are male.
Excluding half, some would argue the more talented half, of the Northumberland population from representation in decision-making at the highest level must be some sort of national record.
Perhaps it falls to legal services at County Hall to organise training on why and how the content of “The Equality Act 2010: a guide for political parties” must be put into long overdue action in Northumberland?
Or is it up to political party headquarters to intervene?
Or perhaps the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (an incongruous title) should be asked to investigate the state of governance in Northumberland?
GEOFF HOLMES
Sinderhope
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