OPPOSITION councillors have accused the ruling Labour group of "demolishing democracy" in a row over changes to the council's constitution.
The number of ordinary full council meetings will be limited to just five a year, compared to the nine held in 2012/13, and the six scrutiny panels are being cut from five to six.
The council leader will be given 15 minutes to speak at the start of full council, while any other councillor wishing to ask a question will be limited to just one minute.
In addition, councillors will now only be able to ask questions about issues raised at previous meetings by submitting them at least a day in advance.
The changes, which were approved at the council's annual general meeting, have been described as autocratic and undemocratic by opposition councillors.
The Conservatives even compared North East Lincolnshire's Labour administration to the regimes of Hitler and Stalin.
However, council leader Chris Shaw, pictured right, (Lab, Sidney Sussex) said the changes would not prevent councillors calling a special full council meeting if an urgent issue arose.
He said the leader's 15-minute speech would enable councillors to be updated on the progress of motions passed at previous meetings, and that limiting questions to one minute would prevent members making rambling speeches not relevant to the questions being asked.
He added that requiring questions to be submitted in advance would force councillors to "do what they are paid to do and start reading the minute book".
Conservative group leader Keith Brookes (Haverstoe) claimed the opposition had got Labour "on the run" and said they made "Stalin look democratic".
Councillor Steve Norton (Con, Humberston and New Waltham) said the changes would "castrate" the opposition's ability to challenge the leadership.
Councillor David Hornby (Con, Scartho) described the move as a "demolition of democracy by the Labour party".
And in an apparent reference to Hitler, Councillor Peter Mills (Con, Wolds) said: "I can remember 80 years ago that someone else did this sort of thing – came to power and removed the opposition, preventing them from making comments, and we all know what the result was."
Liberal Democrat group leader Andrew De Freitas (Park) said the changes would "chill-off democracy in local government."
And Councillor Ron Shepherd (UKIP, Scartho) said: "This is undemocratic and it puts the council leader on transmit and the whole of the borough on receive."
But Councillor Alex Wallace (Lab, Sidney Sussex) responded angrily to the comparison with Nazi Germany, saying: "I will not take lessons in fairness from the party that supports the bedroom tax."
Councillor Shaw added: "It's very good to get a lecture on democracy from Andrew and Keith, the two men who gerrymandered the 2003 election by not putting candidates up against each other."
The new constitution was approved by 23 votes to 15, with one abstention – Labour's Karl Wilson.
