Political

Former Conservative council leader disqualified after missing 37 meetings

A press release from Cotswold Liberal Democrats brings the news:

A former Conservative Leader of Cotswold District Council has been kicked off of the authority.

Mark Annett, who represented the Campden & Vale Ward in the North Cotswolds, failed to attend a single council meeting for sixth months.

Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972 states that if a councillor fails to attend a council meeting within a consecutive 6 month period they cease to be a member of the authority.

A by-election will now be held to choose a new District Councillor at a cost of thousands of pounds to local council taxpayers.

Mr Annett was a District Councillor from 2009 and was the leader of the Council between 2016 and 2018. He hit the headlines during the first lockdown when he faced a standards probe after allegedly verbally abusing a police officer.

Current Cotswold District Council Leader Joe Harris, said: “It’s beggars belief that Mr Annett had the opportunity to attend 37 meetings of the Council over the past 6 months and hasn’t attended a single one.

“He was an experienced councillor and should have known that he could have applied for a dispensation from the six-month rule if he was unable to attend because of a personal issue or poor health.

“Mr Annett’s disqualification also poses questions for his former Conservative colleagues on the Council. Why did they not notice that he was about to be disqualified for non-attendance? If they can’t ensure their councillors attend one meeting every six months how can voters have any confidence that they could run the Council?’

“Residents in Chipping Campden, Willersey, Mickleton, Aston-sub-Edge, Weston-sub-Edge and Saintbury deserve much better than they’ve been given by the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats are the clear alternative to the Conservatives in the Cotswolds and we’ll be campaigning to ensure that Campden & Vale has a hard-working Lib Dem Councillor.

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