Solihull Council Governance Deputation — Video and Transcript

This page contains a video recording and full transcript of a deputation concerning governance and accountability at Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
The material is published to provide an accurate public record and supporting context for wider discussions about council oversight and the Solihull Council Election 2026.

The recording of the Council Webcast is avalable or there is an extract recording below; however, the sound quality is poor. 

The Deputaion as narrated by an Actors Voice - optional

The Full Web Cast Recording

Ladies and gentlemen, I speak to you today as a citizen and a direct witness to the struggles many families faced in their relationship with the services of this council.

I am not mandated or instrumentalised. I'm not playing a role. I'm not an opportunistic activist. And if I speak today, it is because I have no other choice, like other parents, because letters go unanswered, calls go unreturned, and the mechanisms meant to protect families end up crushing them.

When parents speak before the council, they are not acting. They are testifying—sometimes raw and vulnerable to realities no one wants to hear. Yet instead of being received with respect, they are sometimes met with suspicion, contempt, and condescension.

Some elected officials even question our legitimacy to speak, to represent our children, or to denounce system failures.

This is unacceptable.

Let me be very clear with you today. Speaking publicly about one child is not a fault. It's not a political manoeuvre. It is an act of parental responsibility and civic courage.

Children are not the property of the state. They are not under the authority of elected officials. They are under the responsibility of their parents, who are the first and often the only ones able to give voice to them when institutions fail to protect them.

Questioning these fundamental rights crosses a red line. It places one as a moral arbiter, when the role of an elected official requires listening, humility, and respect.

I want to highlight a serious fact: when elected officials publicly express hostile, mocking, or disdainful remarks towards families who speak out, they betray the very spirit of their mandate. An elected official is not here to judge those they represent, but to listen to them, understand them, and be accountable to them.

This is why I demand this council put in place clear rules and sanction mechanisms against any behaviour unworthy of the office.

When an elected official insults or publicly disparages a parent, when they try to censor or intimidate a speaker, when they abuse their position to delegitimise the pain or legitimate concerns of citizens, such acts must no longer go unpunished—because tolerating them is endorsing them. And what we tolerate today shapes the frameworks of democracy tomorrow.

I say this gravely: any councillors who insult families, question the right to speak, or arrogate moral authority over their personal choices should no longer sit as elected members.

Respect for citizens is a condition of democratic legitimacy. Without respect, the mandate loses all meaning.

We demand a strong, just, open local democracy—not a closed space where speech is filtered, criticism stifled, and elected officials shielded from accountability.

What we seek is not chaos, not confrontation—it is consideration, listening, and a minimum of dignity in how institutions treat those they are meant to serve.

The Council cannot merely defend the image of its services; it must defend its principles and its families.

I respectfully urge the Council, in the name of democratic principles, to consider establishing a systematic resignation mechanism for any members who breach their duties, fail in their obligation of restraint, or undermine the fundamental principles of democracy.
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Thank you very much for listening.

Governance Chair Josh O'Nyons’ Reply
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Thank you. There’ll be no formal response to that deputation this evening, but we do appreciate you coming to address us and giving up your evening to do so.


 
 

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