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13
Oct
Fireworks anticipated as Ripon mayor faces vote of no confidence on November 3
Fireworks night could arrive early in Ripon when Councillor Barbara Brodigan faces a vote of no confidence 42 days after being elected as city mayor.
On Monday, November 3, Holy Trinity Church will be the venue for a parish meeting at which Cllr Brodigan, who chairs a factionalised council of five non-aligned and five independent members, will have her position put under the public spotlight.
The meeting will determine whether to hold a parish poll on whether Riponians have confidence in the new mayor.
The poll could cost Ripon council taxpayers about £10,000 and would not be legally binding.
But some people in the city are unhappy at Cllr Brodigan's role in recent changes and want her to step down.
Cllr Brodigan, a Liberal Democrat, this morning confirmed to the Stray Ferret she will attend and chair the meeting.
She said:
I will be attending the upcoming parish meeting in my capacity as chair. I believe it’s important to listen directly to residents and to be accountable for the decisions the council makes.
I’m aware that some attendees may wish to express a lack of confidence in my leadership, and I fully respect their right to do so.
My focus remains on ensuring the meeting proceeds in a fair and constructive manner, and on continuing to serve the best interests of our parish community.
Holy Trinity Church was the venue for a previously heated meeting on December 9 last year, at which Ripon City Councillors voted 7-1 against the cathedral's controversial annexe planning application.
What is a parish poll?
Parish polls allow local electors to vote at polling stations on specific local subjects.
They are held to see if the views of a parish meeting are reflected by the wider community.
This parish meeting was triggered by Ripon resident Sandra Craven and 29 other voters on the city’s electoral register.
She said:
We felt that the parish meeting was necessary because we wanted to give the residents of Ripon a voice. Residents who have been ignored and dismissed.
We wanted to remind councillors that they were elected by the people of Ripon and that their actions should be for the benefit of the city, not for themselves.
We are aware that the result of this poll won't be legally binding, but we can't understand why Cllr Brodigan would want to continue in the role as being one of, if not the only, Mayor of Ripon to have a public vote of no confidence. That would be a historic record to avoid.
In an interview following her election as mayor and chair of the council, Cllr Brodigan told the Stray Ferret:
The city and the council has been badly let down by the previous leadership and so moving forwards, we want to make this the most open and accessible council that Ripon has ever seen.
We are already planning meetings to engage with different residents and community groups. By directly talking with residents, face-to-face, we can identify concerns and work together to find solutions. Regular talking shops will be held between councillors and residents.
Council chaos
The council has been in meltdown since September 15, when more than 100 residents packed the council chamber, landing and stairs at Ripon Town Hall for a meeting where the then mayor Cllr Jackie Crozier was due to face a vote of no confidence.
The council's meltdown started with a packed and heated extraordinary meeting held on September 15.
Among unprecedented angry scenes and raised voices, the no confidence vote did not go ahead because Cllr Crozier, who was not present, resigned from her mayoral role in a letter read out by deputy mayor, Cllr Gary Camplejohn.
Cllr Barbara Brodigan and Cllr Jackie Crozier.
After reading out her resignation letter, Cllr Camplejohn resigned as deputy mayor and left the chamber.
Since then, the roles of leader and deputy leader have been abolished, Councillor Jo Bate resigned as chair of the staffing committee, just minutes after she was elected to serve on the newly-created human resources committee and Cllr Camplejohn refused to becoime a member of a new civic events committee, stating:
I am not a supporter of this civic events committee, as we already have a functioning events committee and I don’t believe duplication of our precious time is needed or justified.
I would go as far as saying that the introduction of a separate committee is likely to cause conflict with the existing events committee and their excellent work.
In addition to turbulence in the council chamber, the council's administration is in a chaotic state with the departure of chief officer and clerk Paula Benson after nine years in post, adding to the earlier resignations of two members of staff.
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