Two Bembridge parish councillors have been kicked out for not attending meetings — but one is ‘fighting back’ against the decision.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, legislation was changed to allow councils at all levels to hold remote or hybrid meetings to keep things in working order.
Zoom meetings
This has seen most, if not all, parish and town councils on the Isle of Wight go online, holding Zoom calls open to the public.
However, it did not change the rule that councillors should attend a meeting at least once in a period of six months or cease to be a member of the authority.
Two councillors fell foul of the rule
In Bembridge, two councillor vacancies are now listed, and will remain open until the local elections in May next year, as two councillors supposedly fell foul of the rule.
With meetings of the full Bembridge Parish Council held five months and 29 days apart, some councillors were at risk of losing their positions as they did not sit on any of the sub-committees which met over the lockdown period.
Curtis and Steane kicked out
Following the full meeting in July, the last two Open Bembridge councillors, Mike Curtis and Alasdair Steane, are now no longer on the authority.
Community action group Open Bembridge clashed with other members over several years, mainly over proposed plans for 5/7 High Street in 2017.
Ex-Cllr Curtis did not attend meetings in January or July and made no apologies.
Former Cllr Steane attended the January meeting and gave apologies for the July meeting, which were only noted and not accepted.
Council refused to answer questions
Bembridge Parish Council has said it will not be commenting on individual cases, refusing to answer further questions about the situation, but did say all councillors ‘were made fully aware’ of the implications of the law and that ‘the proper officers made every attempt to keep all members within the organisation’.
The clerks of the council said legal advice and clarity was sought from the national and Hampshire-branch of the Association of Local Councils and ‘it was made clear’ the six-month rule remained relevant.
Exceptions made elsewhere
Other parish and town councils on the Island had agreed to make an exception during the lockdown to avoid councillors being disqualified.
The day after the July meeting, Mr Steane was told he was no longer a councillor as his apologies were not accepted, as required by the wording of the law, leading him to question why his apology was not accepted.
Steane: “Nasty and vindictive action”
He said:
“This is yet another nasty and vindictive action by the parish council, and is totally unwarranted. It is appalling and designed purely to remove opposition voices from their elected roles.
“I have always participated fully on behalf of the community despite constant abuse and provocation.
“I will be back and continue to fight the anti-democratic behaviours of this awful council.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may be been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Chris Barbalis under CC BY 2.0
