Birmingham is to move to a controversial new system of “all-out” council elections in 2017, Ministers have ruled.
And the number of councillors, currently 120, is also likely to be cut in a review currently underway.
But the decision was condemned by a city MP, who accused the Government of rushing through changes without consultation.
Birmingham City Council currently elects just 40 councillors at a time, and holds elections in three years out of every four.
A review by Sir Bob Kerslake , the Government troubleshooter appointed by Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles, called for major changes.
He said that holding an election only every four years would make it easier for the council to plan ahead. Sir Bob said this would “provide stability in decision making and aid long term planning and vision”.
He also called for an end to the current system in which Birmingham is split into 40 wards, which each have three councillors.
The new system is to be decided by a fresh review but Sir Bob suggested the council could have around 100 wards - with just one councillor each.
This would make councillors more accountable to the public, because each ward would be smaller, he said. It would also save an estimated £1.6 million over 5 years.
Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has now laid an order before Parliament ordering that the first “all-out” council elections in Birmingham be held in May 2017, and every four years after that.
And the Local Government Boundary Commission for England is to carry out the review of the council’s size and how the wards should be organised.
These changes will also be put into place in 2017.
Local Government Minister Kris Hopkins said: “Sir Bob Kerslake’s report called for sweeping changes in how Birmingham City Council is run to maintain its status as Britain’s second city.
“One of these recommendations was a change in the electoral cycle to give the people of Birmingham the chance to vote for the whole council every 4 years. This will help councillors focus on the long-term vision for Birmingham and improve engagement with residents during elections.”
But concerns were raised in the Commons by MP Steve McCabe (Lab Selly Oak), who said the changes were being introduced “without any consultation with the elected councillors or Members of Parliament or indeed with any of the people of Birmingham themselves.”
