In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2025, we look back at the chaos that engulfed Ripon City Council.

Ripon has had local government for centuries but it’s unlikely there has ever been a year like 2025. Resignations, legal threats, walkouts — it has been the most febrile and extraordinary of times. Here is a timeline of the crisis, broken down into nine key moments.

1 Jackie Crozier resigns as mayor

Civil war erupted when Councillor Jackie Crozier resigned as mayor on September 15. Mayors usually serve a one-year term but Cllr Crozier fell on her sword after 127 days when seven fellow councillors submitted a vote of no confidence in her. Her deputy, Cllr Gary Camplejohn, also resigned, and Cllrs Andrew Williams and Peter Horton stood down as leader and deputy leader respectively. All four belonged to the Independents Putting Ripon Before Party Politics group, which owing to defections found itself in the minority.

2 Barbara Brodigan elected mayor

Seven days after Cllr Crozier resigned, Liberal Democrat Cllr Barbara Brodigan was elected mayor by six votes to two at a fiery extraordinary meeting. Independents staged a walk out and a member of the public shouted that it was a “s*** show”. Cllr Brodigan accused the previous regime of “badly letting down” Ripon and pledged to oversee “the most open and accessible council that Ripon has ever seen”. She and her supporters blamed the independents for a raft of departures which they claimed had left the city council bereft of staff and unable to operate effectively. 

3 Power immediately ebbs away

Cllr Brodigan had the support of seven of 12 councillors when she became mayor. But her authority waned almost immediately when Cllr Jo Bate resigned, prompting a by-election. If the independents won, the town hall would be split 6-6 between Cllr Brodigan’s coalition of Lib Dems and unaligned independents and the opposing independents group. She could, however, have still retained control by relying on her casting vote, until perhaps the key moment in the entire saga unfolded…

4 Sid Hawke’s U-turn

Cllr Sid Hawke, who had left the independents group to back Cllr Brodigan, told the Stray Ferret he planned to resign and would reveal his reasons for doing so afterwards. He met Cllr Brodigan to draft a resignation letter but claims he never signed it. He then dramatically performed a U-turn by publicly apologising to Cllr Crozier and returning to the independents group. It altered the balance of power and led to bitter recriminations and legal threats. 

5 Police investigation

Cllr Hawke reported Cllr Brodigan to North Yorkshire Police for allegedly supplying a fraudulent resignation letter from him to town clerk Adam Chugg. But the force said in a statement there was “no evidence to support a criminal offence” and no further action would be taken. Cllr Brodigan described the allegations as “false and defamatory” and said after the police verdict that Cllr Hawke “probably will receive a letter from my solicitor”.

6 By-election success for independents

Rarely has a parish council by-election been more keenly contested than the Ure Bank one on November 20. The Liberal Democrats threw the kitchen sink at it, with Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon among those drafted in to campaign. But Sherrie Hunt, the independent candidate and friend of Cllr Crozier, won with 46%. Lib Dem Tom Cavell-Taylor was second with 37%. With Cllr Hunt on board and Cllr Hawke's U-turn, the independents now had a 7-5 majority on the town council.

7 Legal advice rejected

Cllr Brodigan told another extraordinary meeting on November 24 the council had received legal advice that Cllr Hawke’s resignation was ‘genuine and valid’. Had councillors accepted this, it could have led to another by-election, and another change in the balance of power. But on a night of intense bloodletting, a motion to accept the legal advice and act against Cllr Hawke was voted down. The meeting heard private voicemails played, claims that Cllr Hawke had described fellow councillors as “bastards” and the mayor, Cllr Brodigan, branded “Ripon’s version of Liz Truss” by her arch-rival Cllr Williams.

8 Parish poll

A bad week got worse for Cllr Brodigan on November 27 when Ripon held a parish poll that had been called by 13 people. The question on the ballot paper was: ‘Do you have confidence in councillor Barbara Brodigan?’ A total of 53% voted ‘no’ and 43% voted ‘yes’, prompting calls for Cllr Brodigan to resign. She did not, and said the 4.66% turnout proved it was a “waste of money”.

9 Job ads go out

Following a meeting of the council’s new human resources committee on December 16, job adverts went out for a new chief officer and deputy town clerk on respective salaries of £57,867 to £60,208 and £42,839 to £46,142. Committee chair Cllr Williams said he hoped the recruitment process would conclude at the end of January and whoever is appointed would be able to start work at the beginning of March. “We had a calm meeting and are moving on from the pantomime season of recent weeks,” he added. 

Today (December 31) marked Cllr Brodigan's 100th day as mayor. But she no longer has the support of enough councillors to make the changes she wanted and Cllr Williams is effectively back in control. After such a bitter and divisive year, will 2026 herald a return to less turbulent times?