Green party councillors are likely to get the message to 'shut up' when they try to cut the length of speeches at the full Bradford Council meeting next week.

The Greens, who all represent Shipley West, want to reduce the length of speech times given to councillors proposing a motion from ten minutes to five - and halve the time for people seconding them to just two-and-a-half minutes.

Councillors Robert Nicholls, Martin Love and David Ford say they want to end "political posturing" in the pre-ambles and believe it should be replaced by real debate.

Today Coun Stanley King (Con, Heaton), said it would be undemocratic and would trivialise issues people wanted to bring up. The former Lord Mayor said debate was important to make the right decisions. "Any member of the Council can propose a motion and if it's worth putting in it's worth explaining. You can't do that in two-and-a-half minutes."

The motion proposing the time-change will be put by Coun Robert Nicholls and seconded by group leader Coun Martin Love.

Coun Love said debates were often stage-managed by party group whips, with much of the speech times taken up by the two major parties taking swipes at each other.

He said: "They are often playing to the gallery, except there isn't anybody in the gallery because they don't want to listen to it." The Greens are likely to get the support of Coun Keith Thomson (Ind, Wibsey), who said it was important people should get a chance to speak from the floor. Council leader Coun Margaret Eaton said the pre-ambles were not the reason for the lack of meaty debates on major issues.

She said the Greens should take up with the Government the lack of major decisions for local Councils.

Deputy leader of the Labour group, Coun Dave Green (Odsal), said : "I think there is rightly concern that the full Council has been downgraded in modernisation but I think these restrictions would downgrade it even more."

Coun Green added most local issues took ten minutes to explain and it was important people understood them.

Coun David Ward (Idle, Lib Dem) said people needed time to explain issues they wanted discussing and it should not be cut.