External review of Southwark Council highlights ‘concerns’ with community engagement as Labour look to appoint £148k spin doctor

An independent review into Southwark Council, conducted by senior officers and councillors from other local authorities, has raised ‘concerns’ about engagement with residents.

The ‘Corporate Peer Challenge’, led by the Local Government Association, was carried out in October 2023. It produced a report which stated that engagement with “underserved” residents is “mixed and… inconsistent”.

The report was nodded through by Labour councillors at a meeting of Southwark’s cabinet yesterday, which also saw the approval of a new senior post – ‘Director of Communications, Engagement and Change’.

The new role will cost the council an estimated £148k per year and will be responsible for delivering Labour’s latest local political strategy ‘Southwark 2030’.

The creation of this position comes as the council is setting the budget for 2024/25 which contains millions in cuts to vital services.

The Liberal Democrat opposition in Southwark have called the new role a “Director of Spin” and claim such an expensive new position is an “insult” to residents who have been let down by Southwark Labour’s lack of meaningful consultation for years.

Commenting, Deputy Leader of the Southwark Liberal Democrats Cllr Rachel Bentley said:

““The concerns raised in the report are nothing new to the local community, who have been ignored by their Labour council for years, and nothing new to the Southwark Liberal Democrats. Every single day we hear concerns about how poorly residents are communicated with and the inadequacies of the so-called consultation process. We urgently need a radical change to engagement across the borough. That will come from a genuine shift in culture and practice, not an expensive spin-doctor.”

Criticising the new director role approved by cabinet, Leader of the Southwark Liberal Democrats Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:

"This is a politically-driven and fiscally irresponsible decision from Labour. At the same time as approving millions of pounds in cuts to vital services, they have somehow found £148,000 for a spin doctor to peddle Labour lines. It is an insult to the communities who have been ignored by their council for years.

If Labour insist on proceeding with this unnecessary role, they must offset the cost by cutting their bloated cabinet, showing that they value local communities over their own remuneration."