This week I went to the last City Council meeting before the election.

The March meeting is the most important meeting of the year because we have to agree the budget. I seconded Coun Tracey Mitchell’s amendment, which called for a cross-party working group to look at efficiency and saving opportunities before next year’s budget. Under the current system, opposition councillors get less information, which limits their ability to comment on plans. I didn’t support the budget because I am concerned about the council’s plan to make savings by a ‘transformation programme’ that they have yet to provide details about. It does include increased use of ‘AI’ – which is likely to mean big payments to tech companies and an even more frustrating experience for residents who want to contact the council.

I also seconded a motion proposed by Coun Habib Rahman in support for the Together Alliance against racism, which passed unanimously.

I proposed a motion to improve Welfare Rights support in the city. It passed but only with a Labour amendment, supported by The Greens, that removed a reference to the problems with the current system. The refusal to ever acknowledge that there is anything wrong is one of the reasons that the council repeatedly lets people down.