LABOUR councillors have slammed the recent reorganisation of Hyndburn Council. They say the new system is 'anti-democratic'.

Huncoat councillor Steve Walsh says the 21 Tory and 16 Labour councillors not sitting on the 10-strong Conservative cabinet, which recently replaced the Council's 16 committees, are being wrongly excluded from decision making.

The new system is being brought in by the government in councils nationwide to streamline the decision-making process..

Only the Development Services and Policy Resources Committees remain at Hyndburn, with scrutiny committees created to watch over policy. But Coun Walsh revealed the Labour Group was "very unhappy" at being left in the dark about council business, saying scrutiny committees were "toothless."

He added: "I believe many decisions are happening away from the general public and opposition councillors. The cabinet decides what it wants to send to scrutiny committees and the committees have no real power to change decisions."

Labour Group leader Coun Ian Ormerod backed Coun Walsh, saying the Conservative leadership was wrong to offer all 10 cabinet places to its own party. He said: "The government wanted an open system but we are a long way from that in Hyndburn."

But deputy leader of the council Jim Dickinson hit back, saying: "We needed to streamline the old system, which was too slow. After all it was a policy of the Labour Government, so Mr Walsh is criticising his own party."

He added: "The system is modelled on the Cabinet. I don't see too many Tories in the Labour Government.

"Any councillor is able to challenge a decision at a full council meeting and scrutiny committees can send a decision back to cabinet if they disagree with it.

"Cabinet and scrutiny meetings will be open to the public. The new system is not yet fully operational and we need to wait until November to determine how it is going to pan out."