Sacked councillor consoles himself drinking fine wine
STANDING UP FOR SCRUTINY LED TO HIS REMOVAL AS CONSERVATIVE WHIP
A SACKED East Riding Conservative councillor drank fine wine to console himself, in a premature end to Dry January.
Councillor Paul Nickerson said he was standing up for the scrutiny process when he confronted fellow Tory, Children and Education portfolio holder Councillor Julie Abraham, in a meeting on Friday, January 8.
But it led to his sacking as Conservative whip by council leader Richard Burton, who said his decision was an internal matter and declined to comment further.
Cllr Nickerson announced the news in a now-deleted tweet with a photo of a bottle of wine. In another tweet, which is still live, he shared a photo of Northern Monk, adding: “Dry January was actually going well until this weekend.”
The Beverley councillor said scrutiny had to be more than just “window dressing and should be a way for members to hold East Riding Council’s leadership to account on behalf of residents.
The Minster and Woodmansey ward member was sacked following exchanges in an Overview and Management Scrutiny Committee called to discuss backlogs in reviews on special educational needs (SEND) plans.
Cllr Nickerson said scrutiny was an “incredibly important” part of the work to improve SEND services: “Scrutiny is supposed to be about taking the time to ask officers what’s going on with council business.
“Sometimes questions that seem daft can be the best ones, I’m worried that councillors will be more reluctant to ask difficult questions after this.
“These meetings aren’t just scrutiny, they’re public scrutiny, we represent our residents in these meetings and I think everyone understands how important it is that they’re free from party politics.
“It’s about supporting officers to deliver the best services they can for these kids, they work really hard and when we ask questions of them we’re doing it to help them and so we can understand these issues.
“Scrutiny has to have meaning and it has to be used to help improve services across the council, not as a political tool.”
Cllr Abraham said in the meeting Councillor Kevin Beaumont had been “wrong” after he asked about last year’s inadequate Ofsted rating of council children’s services, separate from SEND backlogs.
Cllr Nickerson defended Cllr Beaumont and branded the portfolio holder’s comments “appalling”, which she later apologised for.
Cllr Burton said during a council meeting on Wednesday, January 13, he shared some of Cllr Abraham’s frustrations over the exchange.
He refused to back calls from Liberal Democrat opposition deputy leader Denis Healy calling for the portfolio holder’s resignation.
Cllr Healy, who also attended the meeting where the exchange took place, said Cllr Nickerson had been sacked for “having the courage” to speak out.
The St Marys ward member said: “The problems in children’s services all stem from the person in charge, the portfolio holder.
“But instead of trying to deal with the problem and supporting the newly appointed officers who have been brought in to try and fix things, she seeks instead to undermine the process of public scrutiny and silence democratically elected councillors.”