BRENTWOOD Council wants to change the process by which councillors are elected in the borough.

The administration is proposing changing to whole-council elections every four years, as opposed to the current scheme, which sees a third of councillors elected three years out of four.

The council says a change in the election procedure could save the authority anything from £138,000 to £195,000 over a four-year cycle. Of the 12 district councils in Essex, five run the whole election scheme, including Chelmsford.

The administration believes having a confirmed four-year term would allow it to deliver its mandate before being judged by the electorate.

William Lloyd, deputy leader of the council, said: “This would save a considerable sum of money, on the basis, too, that we can find a better way of spending that money.”

Mr Lloyd cited a recent Local Government Association rep- ort, which criticised the council for lacking “a strategic vision or long-term plan”. He said this plan would offer the council more stability and vision. He said: “Parties need a mandate to govern, to deliver their promises and then be judged at the ballot box.”

Louise McKinlay, the Tory opposition leader, said: “It would give us a financial saving, but so would an election every five years or every ten years. Democracy comes at a cost, would going back to this system be healthy?

“This is being driven by Brentwood First, a party of individuals who should have put themselves up for re-election when they left the Conservatives. Instead, they are now looking to reduce people’s votes even further. There’s a surprising amount of irony in that.”

She added: “The current cycle is healthy and keeps councillors on their toes and out and about in their community.”