PLANS to overhaul local democracy in Kirklees have been compared to a communist dictatorship.

Labour-led Kirklees Council has put forward plans to devolve local decision-making to community bodies, with leader Councillor David Sheard hailing it as “a fundamental shift in how decisions are taken”.

But Kirklees Tory leader Councillor Robert Light (Birstall and Birkenshaw) said the plans were a sham, comparing them to the Cold War days when East Germany was controlled by communist dictators from Moscow.

He said: “Labour’s proposals are simply centralized devolution where districts can only make decisions that have been approved by the Council’s Labour Leader first.

“This is similar to the old relationship the communist states of Eastern Europe had with their masters in the Kremlin during the Cold War.”

Cllr Light said the Conservatives were calling for “proper devolution whereby local areas and districts are trusted with proper service budgets in their areas”.

He said: “The whole process is a complete sham.”