Sounds like there’s trouble at Tendring District Council (that’s the area around Clacton). Last night’s council meeting was ‘electric’.
Unconfirmed reports say that one councillor was criticised for voting when’s he out on police bail, there were points of orders being quoted throughout the evening and in the end we hear that the vice-chairman of the council was so disgusted with the whole proceedings he wrote a resignation letter, took off his chain and walked out of the meeting (though what he’s resigned from isn’t clear).
Press Article on the fallout
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Tendring Council – bitter row over Intend vote
11:20am Monday 2nd November 2009
TENDRING Council’s vice-chairman resigned and a second councillor walked out of a stormy council meeting, claiming they were tired of hearing personal attacks on colleagues.
Vice-chairman John Brown, an independent councillor, who describes his allegiance as “Community Representative”, was so angered by the row, he resigned his position.
And Labour member Ian Beckett walked out of the full council meeting during a row over appointments to the board of the council’s regeneration company, Intend.
The row was over a bid by the opposition Tendring First group to appoint four councillors as directors of the company.
The Tory group, which controls the council on the chairman’s casting vote, thinks the jobs should go people who are not on the council.
With two Tory councillors absent for family reasons, the Tendring First proposal was carried on the casting vote of Tendring First’s Peter Balbirnie, who is currently on police bail and the subject of a corruption investigation.
Husband-and-wife Tory members Paul and Sue Honeywood missed the meeting because their son is seriously ill. Tory colleague Sarah Candy accused rivals of taking advantage of their absence.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Beckett said: “John Brown resigned because of the in-fighting and feels he cannot be vice-chairman of the council, independently.
“I walked out was because I was embarrassed when the attacks started getting personal. We all like a political fight, but when it starts getting personal, that’s not the sort of thing I want to be involved with.
“I felt embarrassed to be a councillor.”