Alan McCole: Why I am ashamed of shameless council

In a public letter last month, Labour Leader Alan McCole reveals why he is ashamed of Broxbourne Council.

On April 15 I proposed a motion at the full meeting of Broxbourne Council, following a report from the Standards Board for England that Cllr Paul Seeby (Con, Flamstead End) had twice breached the council's code of conduct. The Standards Board is an independent body which monitors the behaviour and standards of local councillors.

The board ruled that Cllr Seeby had brought the council into disrepute and had been disrespectful to a member of the public. My motion simply asked for the council's own Standards Committee "to consider the implications of the Standards Board's ruling... and what action should be taken to ensure that all councillors, in particular Cllr Seeby, are aware of the standards required of them".

It is my sincere belief that the ruling on Cllr Seeby's behaviour reflects on the council as a whole.

The council's Standards Committee exists to:

• promote and maintain high standards of conduct by councillors
• assist councillors to observe the code of conduct
• advise and train councillors on matters relating to the code.

Surely the purpose of the Standards Committee is to deal with issues such as the ruling on Cllr Seeby?

In her opposition to my motion, the leader of the council dismissed the ruling against Cllr Seeby as "unimportant" and accused me of "politicising the issue".

The other 27 Conservative councillors present obviously agreed with her since they all voted against the motion.

In doing so, they all revealed an extremely worrying position:

• they are quite prepared to treat the ruling of an independent body with utter contempt and disdain
• they are happy to have the council brought into disrepute
• they are comfortable with councillors being disrespectful to members of the public
• they have no problems with councillors breaking their own code of conduct, that they all voted to introduce just a few months ago
• they are prepared to ignore the existence of their own Standards Committee by refusing to allow it to consider a matter that is quite patently one which it was created to deal with.

Why did our Conservative councillors vote against a motion that was without doubt correct, in both its content and intent? The obvious answer would seem to be that they closed ranks on a party political basis.

Yet the leader of the council has the barefaced gall to say I am the one "politicising the issue"!

I know many of the Conservative councillors personally.

I know them to be decent and honourable people.

I find it hard to believe that they voted the way they did that night.

It would seem that they were apparently prepared to sacrifice the reputation and integrity of the council they have the honour to serve, for party political reasons.

It is important that reader of this newspaper are aware of the importance and significance of the vote on my motion.

Every single resident of Broxbourne was treated with contempt by the way they voted.

You are governed by a body of people who are prepared to ignore their own code of conduct, the Standards Board for England, their own integrity and their duty to you - the people who elected them.

I am proud to serve as a councillor for the Borough of Broxbourne.

What happened in the council chamber on Tuesday April 15 makes me ashamed of the Conservative ruling majority.

Cllr Alan McCole
Leader of the Opposition (Labour, Waltham Cross)
Broxbourne Borough Council

Report filed 30/04/2003

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