Tobias Ellwood has begun the process of bringing Councils into line with Parliament by preventing any major decisions from being taken during an election campaign.

This follows the questionable behavior of outgoing local Lib Dem administration in Bournemouth which ensured a controversial contract, committing the town to a casino complex was signed at 6.45pm on polling day.

Plans for a casino near the sea front became a key election issue with local Conservatives campaigning against the proposal. It was widely expected that the Lib Dems would lose control of the Town Hall (such was their unpopularity, they lost 23 seats returning only 7 councillors out of 51) and therefore all the more of a scandal that a multi-million pound contract should be signed on election day.

Call for an Inquiry
Tobias wrote to the Chief Executive of Bournemouth Council at the time, asking for an inquiry as to why officers, who should be the guardians of democracy, allowed such a controversial contract to be signed by an administration about to leave office. Whilst the inquiry proved the Lib Dems had done nothing legally wrong, Bournemouth now faces a monumental bill or a casino it did not ask for.

Parliament has long had a convention which prevents any controversial decisions taking place during an election campaign and Tobias' Bill will widen this convention to include local authorities.