We the undersigned are calling for a citywide referendum to take place in Brighton & Hove in order to have our say on a decision that's been made on our behalf, but without our democratic consent.

On the 28th March, the Labour-run administration in our city voted to shift the council from a committee system to a "Leader and Cabinet" model, meaning all future council decisions will now be made by just a small handful of executive councillors selected by council leader Bella Sankey.

This decision means it's now significantly more difficult for councillors from other parties, or indeed, Labour councillors who've fallen out of favour with the council leader, to challenge and debate the most important decisions being made in our local government.

Although the Labour council may point to its victory in the most recent local elections as a sign that Brighton & Hove residents support this move, in reality, Labour only secured 47% of the total votes. This means the remaining 53% of voters are now being denied proper representation in this council going forwards.

But even if Labour had secured a majority of votes in 2023, which it did not, this decision to switch to a cabinet system wasn't mentioned once in the Labour manifesto ahead of that election. To put it bluntly, voters had no idea they'd be voting for such a dramatic change to our local council in that election, because they were never told about it.

To add insult to injury, this decision is also forecast to require £80,000 in restructuring costs at a time when Brighton & Hove residents face a brutal cost of living crisis and councils across the country, including this one, are making unprecedented cuts to public services in order to fend off bankruptcy.

And so with this in mind, we request a referendum be held in order for residents to make this choice for themselves, as should have happened to begin with. We've recently seen a similar referendum take place in Bristol, for example, where people voted in favour of a committee system instead of a cabinet model.

Given the financial cost already inflicted by this decision, we suggest the referendum be held alongside an upcoming election in order to reduce any further unnecessary expense.