Tory councillor ‘laments closure of workhouses’ in meeting about mental health services

That was the headline in The Independent recently:

A Tory councillor has been accused of bringing the party into disrepute after he appeared to express regret that the workhouses had been closed down – in a meeting about mental health services.

Michael Hytche’s comments were branded “Victorian thinking” by the Lib Dem opposition of Torbay Council in Devon, where the Conservatives have the majority…

The Lib Dems have since claimed that the remarks have brought the council into disrepute, and the Conservative group confirmed that they will be debated at the next full council meeting before a decision on possible further action is made.

Dreadful though the comments were (if accurately reported), I believe the bar should be set fairly high before formal council disciplinary action is taken against a councillor for expressing views which, whilst extreme and repugnant, are nonetheless quite rightly fully legal to express.

Pragmatically, given the paucity of local media investigatory resources these days, a formal standards complaint and official investigation is often the only way to establish the truth of what happened – which is useful, as long as you remember that in the end the verdict on elected politicians rests with the electors.

Investigations that establish the facts for electors to judge them are useful, and in the case of some extreme and exceptional comments action prior to an election is justified too, but simply being unpleasant should be allowable. Criticise away, but look to the ballot box rather than a rule book for redress.