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23
Mar 2023
Honorary alderman row overshadows final Harrogate council meeting
A row over standards in politics overshadowed the final full meeting of Harrogate Borough Council.
Councillors past and present, dignitaries and families members came to the Harrogate Convention Centre to watch the council bestow the title of honorary alderman or honorary alderwoman to councillors who have given over 15 years of good service to the authority, which is being abolished next week after 49 years.
Hookstone councillor and leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Pat Marsh, was eligible as she was first elected 33 years ago.
But last year a council standards panel ruled that Cllr Marsh breached its code of conduct after she made comments to a resident, that were secretly recorded, about Conservative council leader Richard Cooper, council officers and Cllr Cooper’s employer, Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Andrew Jones.
The panel asked Cllr Marsh to make a public apology but she refused, citing the political make-up of the panel and her right to free speech.
At a meeting in December, Cllr Cooper put forward a successful motion to effectively ban a councillor from becoming an honorary alderman or alderwoman if they refuse to take recommended actions such as apologise to members.
However, Cllr Cooper revealed last night that Cllr Marsh had emailed him an apology over the affair, which he has accepted. He said:
Cllr Cooper then proposed an amendment that would see Cllr Marsh become an honorary alderwomen.
‘Theft, corruption, lies and bullying’
But during the debate, Cllr Cooper’s deputy, Conservative councillor for Duchy, Graham Swift, spoke out against the wishes of his leader before demanding that Cllr Marsh made a public apology to the room.
Cllr Swift said:
But despite Cllr Swift’s intervention, councillors voted to approve Cllr Cooper’s amendment and Cllr Marsh was made an honorary alderwoman of the borough.
After accepting the title later in the evening, Cllr Marsh said:
‘Stand up and be counted’
Nick Brown, Conservative councillor for Bishop Monkton and Newby, has been a borough councillor for 15 years so he was also eligible to become an honorary alderman.
Like Cllr Marsh, he had been the subject of a standards investigation following comments he made about Cllr Cooper but there has been a disagreement over whether Cllr Brown took the recommended action following the investigation.
Cllr Sam Green, Conservative councillor for Wathvale, proposed an amendment that would see Cllr Brown awarded the title of honorary alderman due to his length of service and because of a “misunderstanding” over the apology.
He said Cllr Brown believed he had no outstanding course of action to take but added he still issued a “comprehensive and sincere” apology to Cllr Cooper and other councillors through email.
Cllr Green, who was elected last year in a by-election and is the youngest member on the council, called on councillors to have the “courage of your convictions” and “stand up and be counted” to award Cllr Brown the title. He said:
However, Cllr Cooper said he would still not be accepting Cllr Brown’s apology. He said advice from the council’s Independent Person deemed it as “not acceptable”.
Cllr Cooper said:
Councillors eventually voted to approve each individual honorary alderman and alderwoman nomination, including Cllr Brown by 21 votes to eight with four abstentions.
Cllr Cooper has dominated local politics in Harrogate for the last decade but will retire as a councillor next week.
In a sign that his power has now waned, those who voted to award Cllr Brown the title included a large group of Conservative councillors. The four councillors who abstained on the vote were members of his cabinet.
Cllr Cooper was entitled to the honorary alderman title, but turned it down in January. The full list of councillors put forward for the title and how long they have served is:
- Philip Broadbank, Liberal Democrat councillor for Starbeck (44 years)
- Pat Marsh, Liberal Democrat councillor for Hookstone (33 years)
- Nigel Simms, Conservative councillor for Masham and Kirkby Malzeard (24 years)
- Margaret Atkinson, former Conservative councillor for Fountains and Ripley (23 years)
- Jim Clark, former Conservative councillor for Harlow (22 years)
- Trevor Chapman, Liberal Democrat councillor for Bilton Grange (19 years)
- Michael Harrison, Conservative councillor for Killinghall and Hampsthwaite (19 years)
- Sid Hawke, Ripon Independents councillor for Ripon Ure Bank (18 years)
- Stuart Martin, Conservative councillor for Ripon Moorside (18 years)
- Christine Willoughby, Liberal Democrats councillor for Knaresborough Eastfield (17 years)
- Matthew Webber, Liberal Democrat councillor for New Park (16 years)
- Robert Windass, Conservative councillor for Boroughbridge (15 years)
- Nick Brown, Conservative councillor for Bishop Monkton (15 years)
Read more:
- Long-serving Harrogate councillor banned from becoming honorary alderwoman
- Former Harrogate councillor made Honorary Alderman for North Yorkshire
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