Further to our report earlier this morning in which Labour Parliamentary candidate Mark Chiverton told us that he had been told to stand down or resign from his post, we’ve just received the response below from the Chief Executive, Steve Beynon.
“The council has not told Mark that he must either resign his job, or stand down as a candidate.
“However it has to be remembered that Mark’s salary as a full time union official is met by the IW Council. Consequently, as employers, we have asked Mark to confirm that he intends to stand at the forthcoming general election and, if so, how he anticipates his campaigning will affect the time he is able to spend on work for which he is paid out of the public purse.
“Until we have had a discussion with Mark over his plans and availability for work during an election period, we cannot say what stance the council may take.
“The council, cannot by law do anything that provides support for a political party and there are also other factors the council must consider in its role as an employer.
“Rather than discuss this in detail through the media, the council – which I stress has not issued an ultimatum to Mark – will be sitting down with him to discuss this matter and I am hopeful we can arrive at a solution that is acceptable to all parties.”
Naturally we’ve attempted to contact both Mark Chiverton and his agent Geoff Lumley, as the two of these statements (his and Steve Beynon’s) appear so far apart. We will update when we hear back.
Update: It might be useful to point out that as far as we’re aware, this action has nothing to do with The Leader or any other councillors.
This should be a matter between Mark and the council officers involved.
The handling of staff and day-to-day running of the council is down to the officers “¦ and councillors are strictly forbidden to be involved with the execution. Their role is to set policy.
