At last night’s full council meeting the Labour administration voted through changes to Milton Keynes City Council’s constitution that will take away the right of residents and parish councils to call in executive decisions.
The Conservative Group voted against these anti-democratic changes, whilst the Liberal Democrat Group abstained. Conservative Councillors say the Liberal Democrat’s refusal to oppose this decision demonstrates a complete lack of support for our parish councils, many of whom are volunteers serving their communities with dedication and pride.
Milton Keynes City Council is the first fully parished unitary authority in the country. Until tonight, it was a proud outlier—one of the only councils in the UK where parish councils and residents could formally challenge decisions. That right has now been taken away.
Cllr Shazna Muzammil, Leader of the Conservative Group, said:
“We are deeply disappointed. This decision silences residents and parishes who want to challenge how major decisions are made in their area. What happened tonight was wrong—not just in principle, but in the way it was forced through, with no respect for the people this Council is supposed to serve. All the parishes asked for was time to meet with their councils and discuss this. There was no need to rush. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats should be ashamed.”
Multiple parish councillors and residents attended last night’s meeting, speaking passionately against the changes and urging the Labour Group to uphold their commitment to working in partnership with Parish Councils and resident’s groups.
Cllr Alison Andrew, member for Newport Pagnell North and Hanslope, said:
“This decision is a disgraceful admission by Labour and the Liberal Democrats that they neither support nor value the tireless, mostly thankless, volunteer work by the Parish Councils across our city. Just over a month ago, in collaboration with the Parish Advisory Group, this council published a renewed ‘Together We Can’ partnership contract, spelling out the council’s commitment to working with our parishes. Tonight’s decision makes a mockery of this work and fundamentally undermines the valuable relationships we as a Council should have with our local communities. Ironically, the document was issued on April 1st 2025. Who knew the administration and the Liberal Democrats will treat it as a joke and make fools of all of us”
The Conservative Group moved a motion to defer these changes to the Full Council meeting in June, urging the administration to take this extension of time to engage more thoroughly with our parish council partners. Both the Labour and Liberal Democrat Group voted down this proposal.
In response to the lobbying from Parish Councils, an amendment was passed that allows Parishes to formally support a councillor-led call in and, if so, have formal speak rights at the meeting. However, they remain unable to initiate a call in themselves.
Cllr Muzammil finished:
“The Labour Group say they want to ‘fall in line’ with other councils. But our response is simple: we want to be an outlier. We should be proud to stand out for giving our residents and parishes a greater
voice. These changes aren’t about improving democracy—they’re about making it easier for the administration to push through what it wants, when it wants.”
“As a Group, we will continue holding this Labour administration to account in every way we can. And we will continue standing up for the residents and parish councils whose voices were ignored tonight.”
