In early June 2019, It’s Our City! submitted the first big batch of Sheffield People’s Petition signatures to the city council. These were enough to trigger a full debate at the full Council meeting on 3rd July. We were particularly keen to trigger this debate in advance of full petition submission as:
- We had become concerned at the level and poor quality of information (in some cases amounting to misinformation) apparently available to our councillors, and in public council documents;
- Given the positive response all across Sheffield communities to the petition, and to the exercise of our community rights, it was possible, even at this late stage, for the Council to make its own choice and commit to changing to a committee system – without the cost of a city-wide vote. Once again, we wanted to alert the Council to their own choices and responsibilities.
BBC Radio Sheffield provided informative and measured morning coverage and clips are below, from morning news bulletins, from an interview with IOC, and from an interview with a local reporter in Brighton (about their committee system).
You can listen to the full Council debate, below:
Again, BBC Radio Sheffield provided excellent summary coverage in their 5pm news bulletin: