Barred from Office [At Least For A Bit]: FIFTEEN Town and Parish Councillors across Shepway

Across Shepway, thirteen Conservative Town and Parish Councillors, including two Town Mayors and a Parish Deputy Chair, and two People First Town Councillors have today been barred from sitting on their Councils.

As of 3pm on Monday 6th June, 15 Councillors from Folkestone and Hythe Town and Sandgate Parish Councils had been deemed by Shepway Council's Electoral Services Department to have either failed to submit, or submitted an incomplete, expenses return on time. Shepway's Electoral Services Department run elections on behalf of all Town and Parish Councils in the district.

The deadline for submission of expenses returns for the Town and Parish elections of 5th May was close of business on June 3rd.

An election return is required as the official record of the money spent on an election campaign, and is strictly limited by law. The Representation of the People's Act 1983 Chapter 2 [Part 2] makes it clear that commencing from the deadline for the return to be submitted, those Councillors who have not submitted a complete return are illegible to sit as Councillors.

Shepway Council's Electoral Services Department have confirmed that this afternoon they will be contacting the Councils concerned to notify them that a number of their Councillors are currently illegible to sit until a complete return is provided.

The Councillors who have failed to provide a complete return as of 3pm of 6th June are:

Folkestone Town Council

• Sue Wallace (Mayor of Folkestone) [Conservative] - Incomplete return as of 6th June
• John Collier [Conservative] - Incomplete Return as of 6th June
• Ann Berry [Conservative] - Incomplete Return as of 6th June
• Emily Sanger [Conservative] - Incomplete Return as of 6th June
• Brian Copping [People First] - No return supplied by 6th June
• Paul Marsh [People First] - No return supplied by 6th June

Hythe Town Council

• David Owen (Mayor of Hythe) [Conservative] - No return supplied by 6th June
• Alan Ewart-James (Former Mayor of Hythe) [Conservative] - No return supplied by 6th June
• Stan Hayward (Former Mayor of Hythe) [Conservative] - No return supplied by 6th June
• Malcolm Dearden (Former Mayor of Hythe) [Conservative] - Incomplete Return as of 6th June

Sandgate Parish Council

• Leo Griggs [Conservative] - Incomplete Return as of 6th June
• Jan Holben (Deputy Chair of Sandgate) [Conservative] - Incomplete Return as of 6th June
• Richard Grundy [Conservative] - Incomplete Return as of 6th June
• Marjorie Findlay-Stone [Conservative] - No return supplied by 6th June
• Michael Fitch [Conservative] - No return supplied by 6th June

Darren Briddock of Shepway Liberal Democrats commented:

"It seems that today, Hythe and Folkestone have lost their Mayors - at least temporarily. 25% of Hythe Town Councillors are currently not allowed to sit. 33% of Folkestone Town Councillors are currently not allowed to sit. And almost 50% of Sandgate Parish Councillors - including the Deputy Chair - are not allowed to sit. Those Councillors would have to be excluded from any meetings until they submit their expenses correctly.

"It's amazing that so quickly after being entrusted with running their local Council's, 13 Conservatives and both People First Councillors in the district have failed to submit a simple set of forms on time and complete, let alone run a Council.

"I'm sure the Conservatives will bluster that this is a simple adminstrative error and easily corrected. It's actually the failure to submit legally required forms completed correctly by a legally defined deadline. If you can't stick to the law and get paperwork in on time, you have no business trying to run a Council."

ENDS

For more information or comment, please call Darren Briddock on 07736 704885.