Minutes:
12.1 The Mayor invited the Leader of the Council to move a motion to suspend Council procedure rules to enable Group Leaders to comment on the outcome of the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union. The motion was seconded by several Members.
12.2 RESOLVED to suspend Council procedure rules to enable Group Leaders to comment on the outcome of the referendum.
12.3 Councillor James, Leader of the Council, advised that a majority of voters in the City had voted to leave with 58 per cent in favour of leaving and 42 per cent in favour of remaining in the European Union. He stated that the United Kingdom was a democratic nation and the decision should be respected as the people had spoken. He believed that it was too early to predict the effects of the decision, which had caused turbulence in both Westminster and Brussels and the only certainty was uncertainty. He stated that the result of the referendum would not result in any intrinsic change to the ability of Gloucester to be a great city. He stated that Gloucester had always been a warm and welcoming place and he deplored the incidents of race hatred that had recently been reported elsewhere.
12.4 Councillor Haigh, Leader of the Labour Group, welcomed the comments made by Councillor James. She believed that the Council must show leadership and provide stability for the community. She understood that Officers were taking advice on finances and devolution was under review. She believed that Council needed to consider that we were in a changing situation nationally and could possibly face further financial challenges although she believed that local government had taken the brunt of the Government’s cuts. She advised that Members of the Labour Group were wearing safety pins as a symbol of solidarity with immigrants as Gloucester had a history of welcoming people from overseas. She stated that Members should work together to ensure that Gloucester had the best possible future.
12.5 Councillor Hilton, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, stated that he had voted to remain and found it difficult to accept the result of the referendum, which had caused turmoil in the Conservative and Labour parties and in the financial markets. He believed that the nation was waiting for leadership that could tell us the impacts of leaving the European Union. The Council would have to do its best, devolution would be on hold and he noted with concern that some of the Council’s regeneration partners had Brexit clauses within their contracts. He expressed concerns about the impact of the decision upon small businesses in the City, many of which exported to Europe. He stated that many citizens of the European Union had made their homes in the City and found it distasteful to learn that British citizens were telling foreigners to go home. He suggested that the Council should check how many of its staff were European citizens and he had made the same suggestion at the County Council. He concluded that the reality of the situation was that the UK Government did not have a plan.