In the Isle of Wight council leader‘s report for tonight’s full council meeting (live from 5pm), he refers back to September’s incident where Cllr John Hobart was overheard saying ‘Coward’ after Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox abstained on a vote.
Other male councillors, who had abstained before Cllr Peacey-Wilcox (Island Indie) cast her vote, were not subject to the same comments and so she drew it to the attention of the Chairman. Cllr Hobart (Con) owned up to making the comment and apologised.
Complaint lodged
However, a formal complaint was lodged against Cllr Hobart (councillor for Carisbrooke) for not treating fellow councillors with respect and for bringing the office into disrepute. The complaint called for a public apology, as well as training on bullying and gender equality.
Cllr Hobart subsequently wrote to Cllr Peacey-Wilcox (councillor for Cowes Medina), stating that the comment wasn’t intended for her. He said he did not believe he was bullying, as his comment was not meant to be heard.
Cllr Hobart finished his letter by apologising to all councillors who had ‘taken offence’ at his comment.
Peacey-Wilcox: Disappointed at response
On receiving the letter from Cllr Hobart, Cllr Peacey-Wilcox told News OnTheWight,
“I was disappointed that the letter sent was not an apology, but an explanation.”
Stewart: No excuse for a lack of civility or professionalism
In Cllr Stewart’s report for tonight’s meeting he calls on councillors to “keep in mind” that in run up to the next local election (May 2021), “there is no excuse for a lack of civility or professionalism”.
He writes,
Getting to grips with meetings in a virtual world is a challenge that we have all had to face since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. But it can create problems around our conduct with each other.
There is no better example of this than during the September meeting of Full Council when muttered comments by some members were picked up by sensitive microphones that were not properly muted.
I am sure that all members will have learned some important lessons from these events and the need to limit comments to the matters in hand in the future.
I am a firm believer that everyone has the right to be heard without fear of unwarranted interruptions or inappropriate remarks and I will work with all group leaders to avoid a repeat of what happened back in September.
The run up to the next local election is no excuse for a lack of civility or professionalism and I would ask all member to keep this in mind at all times.
