Agenda item

To consider any motions, due notice of which have been given in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12.

One motion was submitted in accordance with Standing Order 4.1.12.

(A)  Motion to Remove the Leader of the Council from Office

RESOLVED: That the Leader of the Council was not removed from Office.

Audio recording – 2:19:43

One motion was submitted in accordance with Standing Order 4.1.12.

Councillor Claire Strong moved the motion which had been supported by the Conservative Group to remove the Leader of the Council from Office. She advised that the motion followed on from the Standards Matters Report discussed at the Standards Committee in March. An external investigator found that there was a case to answer, and the Leader had breached the Code of Conduct. Whilst an apology had been received, the Office of the Leader had been bought into disrepute.

Councillor Claire Strong called for a recorded vote on the motion.

Councillor Morgan Derbyshire seconded the motion and advised that he had made the complaint against the Leader. The independent investigator found that the Leader had breached the Code of Conduct, which was on public record. Whilst an apology was accepted by the Monitoring Officer, this did not excuse that the Office of the Leader had been bought into disrepute.

The following Members took part in debate:

·         Councillor Ralph Muncer

·         Councillor Nigel Mason

·         Councillor Gerald Morris

·         Councillor Ruth Brown

·         Councillor Tom Plater

·         Councillor Adam Compton

·         Councillor Keith Hoskins

·         Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg

·         Councillor George Davies

·         Councillor Claire Strong

Points raised during the debate included:

·         Standards of public life applied to all Councillors and the investigation found that the Code of Conduct had been breached by the Leader.

·         The apology received from the Leader was deemed appropriate and was accepted by the Monitoring Officer and Independent Person.

·         The Independent Person of the Standards Committee concluded that the complaint was investigated fully and robustly.

·         It was stated that the complainant was not given sufficient time to accept the apology, although it was clarified by the Monitoring Officer that he had been provided with 3 days, the maximum time available, and had not responded by the deadline or since.

Having been proposed by Councillor Claire Strong and seconded by Councillor Morgan Derbyshire, the motion was put to a vote:

The results of the recorded vote were as follows:

YES       :  14

ABSTAIN   :   1

NO        :  19

TOTAL     :  34

The individual votes were as follows:

Cllr Sam North                                      ABSTAIN

Cllr Adam Compton                                   YES

Cllr Adem Ruggerio-Cakir                            NO

Cllr Alistair Willoughby                            NO

Cllr Amy Allen                                      NO

Cllr Carol Stanier                                  NO

Cllr Chris Hinchliff                                NO

Cllr Chris Lucas                                    NO

Cllr Claire Strong                                  YES

Cllr Clare Billing                                  NO

Cllr Daniel Allen                                  

Cllr David Barnard                                  YES

Cllr David Levett                                   YES

Cllr Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg                       NO

Cllr George Davies                                  YES

Cllr Gerald Morris                                  YES

Cllr Ian Mantle                                     NO

Cllr Ian Moody                                      YES

Cllr Jean Green                                     YES

Cllr Keith Hoskins                                  NO

Cllr Morgan Derbyshire                              YES

Cllr Nigel Mason                                    NO

Cllr Philip Weeder                                  NO

Cllr Ralph Muncer                                   YES

Cllr Richard Thake                                  YES

Cllr Ruth Brown                                     NO

Cllr Sean Nolan                                     NO

Cllr Sean Prendergast                               NO

Cllr Simon Bloxham                                  YES

Cllr Steve Jarvis                                   NO

Cllr Terry Hone                                     YES

Cllr Terry Tyler                                    NO

Cllr Tom Plater                                     NO

Cllr Tom Tyson                                      NO

Cllr Tony Hunter                                    YES

RESOLVED: That the Leader of the Council was not removed from Office.