‘Bullying’ on the cabinet’s agenda
REPORT WAS RESPONSE TO PETITION’S CLAIMS
A REPORT into allegations of bullying at a “toxic” town council will be discussed next month, it has been confirmed.
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s cabinet will meet on September 14 to consider a report on Bingham Town Council, produced in response to a petition calling for the authority to be dissolved.
The cabinet will hear the findings of a cross-party working group’s investigation of allegations of mismanagement and bullying.
Among the actions being considered by the borough council is a “community governance review”, which would effectively enable the council to step in and temporarily manage affairs in Bingham.
In June, a resolution by Councillor Andy Edyvean, cabinet portfolio holder for business and economic growth,called for a “thorough investigation of the issues raised” in the petition.
In July, a Rushcliffe spokesperson commented: “The council has reviewed its process in relation to considering the Bingham petition. As a result of this and having taken legal advice, the petition will now be the subject of a report to September council.”
Bingham Town Council also issued a statement, on July 6, which said: “This is a decision of Rushcliffe Borough Council and the petition is not something that is directly affiliated with Bingham Town Council.”
Later in July two Conservative Bingham councillors, Deputy Mayor Councillor Francis Purdue-horan and Councillor John Stockwood, were found in breach of the code of conduct after an investigation into the bullying of a town clerk.
Both councillors also sit on Rushcliffe Borough Council, representing Bingham West.
Councillor Purdue-horan also represents Bingham East on Nottinghamshire County Council.
Allegations of bullying and bringing the town council into disrepute against Councillor Purdue-horan and Councillor Stockwood were considered by Rushcliffe Borough Council’s standards committee. It found that both had breached the code of conduct and recommended sanctions against them.
The committee noted the councillors had “harassed and repeatedly behaved unfairly and oppressively” towards the clerk in an attempt to remove her from office.
The committee recommended that Bingham Town Council “arrange HR performance management training for the subject members and all members of Bingham Town Council”.
The councillors were also invited to apologise in writing to the town clerk who raised the complaint, and requested to “reflect on the appropriateness of their membership of the HR committee”.
The committee noted that “the powers for a Council to disqualify or suspend an elected member were removed pursuant to the Localism Act 2011”.
Both councillors were subsequently suspended by the Conservative Party, meaning that neither can represent their party as councillors and must sit as independents. Both could be expelled from the party.
Stewart Wallace, chairman of Newark Conservative Association said: “We have decided that they are suspended until such time as we have completed our investigation and the executive of the association has had the opportunity to decide if it is appropriate to look at some other form of suspension.”
Tony Fox, who led the “Bingham Deserves Better!” petition, and who sat on Bingham Town Council as an independent from mid-2012 until 2015, said: “The question now is what Rushcliffe Borough Council is going to do about this.
“I am interested and a lot of people are interested in what these two councillors are going to do going forward.
“They were asked politely to do certain things and you have to question whether those things have been done as they were asked to do.
“Separately alongside that is the question of their place on Bingham Town Council.
“I don’t see how they can with any grace at all stay on Bingham Town Council.
“Technically they can because they were elected by Bingham residents. But how can any normal individual stick at it when you’ve been accused of one of the worst things you can be accused of in public life?
“I think it’s wrong. I think they should resign.”
Councillors Purdue-horan and Stockwood, Bingham Town Council Mayor Andrew Shelton, and Robert Jenrick, Conservative MP for Newark, have all been approached for comment.