Councillor accused of bringing his position into disrepute
Kirklees Lib Dem Cllr Anthony Smith (seventh from left on back row) at his 50th birthday party weekend, and right, his tweet criticising Dominic Cummings
A FORMAL complaint has been made against a Huddersfield councillor who allegedly broke lockdown restrictions to throw a birthday party in the Lake district.
The actions of Lib Dem’s Councillor Anthony Smith, who represents Lindley on Kirklees Council, were said to have potentially brought his role and the council into disrepute.
The complaint was submitted to the council’s monitoring officer by Councillor Aleks Lukic, who represents Dewsbury East for Dewsbury Borough Independents (Heavy Woollen).
In a lengthy email he said that Cllr Smith had not only broken lockdown restrictions and ignored social distancing but had made misleading statements.
He added that he had breached the principles of selflessness and honesty that apply to people in public office.
He wrote: “Cllr Smith’s statement that his actions in breach of coronavirus guidance were ‘sensible’ and ‘reasonable measures’ is misleading to the public and a breach of the council’s code of conduct.”
He added: “By making this statement in his official capacity he has conducted himself in a manner which is contrary to the council’s duty to promote and maintain high standards of behaviour. He has also placed his position as a councillor and potentially the council as a whole into disrepute.” Cllr Lukic said his formal complaint had been acknowledged by Kirklees Council.
Cllr Smith, who was elected in 2019, travelled to Fallbarrow Hall in Bowness-on-Windermere last weekend to celebrate his 50th birthday with family and friends.
They included his ward colleague Cllr Cahal Burke as well as Peter Malcolm, a Labour councillor in Rochdale.
Photographs posted on social media showed Cllr Smith posing for a group picture with friends as well as people gathered in a non-socially distanced way.
Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to comment on whether he had broken lockdown restrictions and failed to observe social distancing guidelines, Cllr Smith said he had not.
He said he and the rest of his party “took every reasonable measure” to ensure social distancing and safety,” adding, “we were as sensible as we could be in the circumstances”.
Colne Valley Conservatives put out a tweet from Cllr Smith dating from May in which he criticised the Prime Minister’s special adviser, Dominic Cummings, for his trip to the north.
They described it as “complete hypocrisy” and tweeted “#SackSmith #SackBurke”.
However, Colne Valley Conservative MP Jason McCartney took a more measured view.
He said: “With people in Lindley and across Kirklees making huge personal sacrifices in following the rules to reduce the transmission of this deadly virus, it’s so important that elected politicians set an example.
“These Lib Dem councillors were all over social media criticising others for breaking the rules and now photos show they’ve been indulging in serious breaches of social distancing rules whilst having a party.
“I know my constituents who have had to cancel weddings, miss funerals and not hug loved ones will take a real dim view of this careless behaviour.”
Cllr John Lawson, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Kirklees Council, said: “No laws or local measures have been broken.
“Councillors have behaved responsibly in making extensive checks that their accommodation was Covid compliant before going ahead with the trip.
“It is all too easy to see how muddled Conservative Government guidelines are causing concern even when people are sticking to the rules.”