Hogg promised to make council “more open” – then silenced the councillor challenging him

UPDATED A councillor who has represented his ward for over 30 years has been blocked from raising an issue at Full Council, under constitutional changes that Leader Simon Hogg promised would make the authority “more open to the people it serves.”

In February, Hogg announced reforms he said would end the days when “council meetings have felt like a closed shop, with decisions made behind a wall of paperwork and process.” He pledged the council was “giving residents more say.”

Nine months later, those same reforms have silenced Cllr Malcolm Grimston (Independent, West Hill), who intended to challenge Hogg over what he calls a “misleading response” about the surge in complaints against Wandsworth Council.

Mayor Jeremy Ambache ruled his motion out of order, stating that Standing Order 39 only allows “Matters of Local or Topical Interest” to be raised through political Groups. Since Grimston does not take a party whip, he has no Group, and therefore no route to raise any issue of his choosing in the chamber.

“In effect I can now only talk to an issue which has been raised by another Councillor,” Grimston told Putney.news. “I cannot introduce anything that has arisen as a result of my own ward work or investigations.

“Given that I am also excluded from the Scrutiny Committees this severely disadvantages me and more importantly my residents, while protecting officers and the administration from scrutiny.”

Grimston has represented West Hill since 1994, initially as a Conservative. After becoming Independent, he stood against both major parties in 2018 and won with 66.7% of the vote. He held the seat in 2022 with 66.4%, nearly double his nearest rival on both occasions. West Hill’s 11,000 electors have chosen him for over 30 years. Now the party-based rules exclude him from raising points in the chamber.

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The issue he wanted to raise

Grimston’s blocked motion concerned Hogg’s answer to a question about rising Ombudsman findings against the Council.

At the last council meeting in October, Grimston asked why Wandsworth’s share of national Housing Ombudsman findings had more than tripled, from 0.14% in 2020-21 to 0.49% in 2023-24.

Hogg’s written answer stated that “recent increases are reflected across local government” and that “the Council’s performance is good compared with other local authorities.”

The Council’s own published data tells a different story. Housing Ombudsman determinations against Wandsworth rose 238% in 2023-24, compared to a 107% national increase. Local Government Ombudsman complaints rose 44%, against a 16% national rise.

Wandsworth’s deterioration was more than twice as fast as other councils, not “reflected across local government” as the Leader claimed.

Putney.news reported on the discrepancy last week. Neither the Leader nor the Council press office responded to questions about the misleading answer. Now the councillor who wanted to challenge it has been prevented from doing so.

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Mayor admits rules are flawed

In an email to Grimston, Mayor Ambache acknowledged the Standing Orders had failed to account for Independent councillors.

“I realise this was a missed opportunity for the GP committee to consider the position of ‘Independent’ members in relation to this matter,” Ambache wrote, “and there may be good reason to review this Standing Order in future.”

But despite this admission, he ruled the motion out of order and declined to make an exception.

The current procedure replaced the former Adjournment Debate process, which Grimston says allowed all councillors, including Independents, to raise issues for over 30 years. The changes were part of sweeping constitutional reforms that opposition councillors said would make it harder to challenge the administration.

One-person parties welcome, Independents not

The rules reveal a telling distinction. Cllr Mark Justin, the sole Reform UK councillor, told Putney.news he was invited to the pre-Full Council meeting in November as “Group leader” despite being the only member of his party. He has not yet tested whether he can raise a topical motion.

Justin said the situation showed the two-party system “cannot cope with a surge in interest for alternative political party members.”

“Both Malcolm Grimston and Mark Justin, and one would assume any Liberal candidate elected in May 2026, are prevented from raising topical questions at Full Council of their own and those of their residents, as the current Standing Orders only recognise Labour and Conservative members,” he said. “So-called ‘democracy in action’, and at its worst.”

Nick Austin, another Independent councillor feels similarly: “I think it’s completely wrong,” he told Putney.news. “This Labour administration has made it increasingly clear that it is uncomfortable with proper scrutiny, and this decision is just the latest example.

“Councillor Grimston has been a tireless public servant for more than a decade, consistently standing up for his residents. For Labour to block his ability to bring forward local or topical issues simply because he sits as an Independent is not only undemocratic, it’s an attempt to shut down voices they can’t control.”

He continued: “Residents expect openness and accountability from their council. Preventing an experienced councillor from raising matters in the chamber undermines both. I would fully support a change to the Standing Orders to ensure Independent members have a meaningful route to speak and hold the administration to account.”

What happens next

Grimston intends to raise a Point of Order at Wednesday’s Full Council meeting, though he expects it will achieve little.

“I will not get anywhere with this,” he said.

The council that promised to end the “closed shop” appears to have built a new one.

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Update: 12pm, Wed 10 Dec. Story updated to include quote from Cllr Nick Austin.