The Conservative Group at Suffolk County Council is demanding answers after the papers for Monday's Extraordinary Cabinet meeting revealed that the decision to take the Government to court over Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) was taken by the Leader of the Council alone, and that legal proceedings were already issued on 24 June, before councillors or the public had any say.
Monday's Cabinet meeting, far from being where the decision is made, is being asked only to "note" a decision the Leader has already taken and to agree to continue proceedings that have already begun. The administration is also asking Cabinet to declare the decision "urgent" so that it cannot be called in for scrutiny.
The Conservative Group has consistently said that any challenge to the Government's decision must be properly scrutinised and taken in the open. The papers show it was neither.
Councillor Richard Rout, Leader of the Conservative Group at Suffolk County Council, said:
"There is a glaring irony at the heart of this. The Reform administration is taking the Government to court for, in their words, failing to follow a proper and transparent process. Yet they have taken this decision in exactly the way they accuse the Government of behaving - behind closed doors, by one man, before anyone else had a say.
"The papers make it plain. The Leader decided to take action against the Government on his own authority. The claim was filed on 24 June. And only now, after the event, are his fellow councillors being handed the papers and asked to rubber-stamp a decision that has already been taken and acted upon.
"To cap it all, they are asking Cabinet to declare the whole thing 'urgent' so that it cannot even be called in and scrutinised. A decision of this magnitude, committing public money to litigation against the Government over the future of our county, should never be rushed through in a way that shuts down scrutiny.
"Even if the Leader had the power to do this alone, the bigger question is why he would ever choose to. A decision of this magnitude, committing the whole county to legal action against the Government, demanded openness and proper scrutiny. Instead, it was taken behind closed doors and presented to councillors after the event. The council's own constitution says decisions should be taken with a presumption of openness and transparency. This was the opposite. If you are going to take someone to court for not following proper process, the very least you can do is follow your own."
Cllr Matthew Hicks, Conservative Councillor and spokesperson for LGR, Devolution, Farming & Rural Affairs said:
"By the administration's own admission, if this challenge fails the council will have to pay not only its own legal costs but most of the Government's too - and it is being funded by raiding the council's reserves. This is being done completely the wrong way around - you make your case to councillors and the public first, then take a decision on whether to write a huge cheque.”
Local Government Reorganisation will have a profound effect on the future of Suffolk, and the Conservative Group has been clear that decisions of this significance must be taken transparently and follow proper process.
The Group will continue to hold the Reform UK administration to account and is calling for the decision to be taken openly and properly, with full scrutiny, rather than presented to councillors as a decision already made.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
- According to the report to the Extraordinary Cabinet on 29 June 2026, "the decision to issue a claim to begin legal proceedings was an Executive decision taken by the Leader" and "the Leader gave instructions to file a claim for judicial review on 24 June 2026." The claim was issued on 24 June, five days before the Cabinet meeting.
- Cabinet is being asked only to "note" the decision already taken and to "agree to instruct officers to continue with legal proceedings" - not to take the decision itself, which has already been made and acted upon.
- The report asks Cabinet to "agree that the decision is urgent" so that, under rule 14.6 of the constitution, "the decision would not be subject to a call-in" - the mechanism by which councillors can require a decision to be scrutinised.
- By the administration's own account, the council will need to pay its own legal costs and, if unsuccessful, typically around 70% of the Government's costs. The report states these costs "will need to be funded by repurposing earmarked reserves."
- The report states that total costs are "relatively unlikely" to exceed £500,000
