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12
Sept
Former Ripon City Council leader rejects criticism as mayor faces no-confidence vote
A Ripon councillor has rejected claims he took decisions on behalf of his authority without involving other councillors.
The rebuttal from the former leader of Ripon City Council comes amid turbulence at the authority, including a planned no-confidence vote in the mayor.
Councillor Andrew Williams this week resigned from the position of leader ahead of a meeting where abolishing the roles of leader and deputy leader on the council was to be discussed.
The agenda item was proposed by six councillors who were unhappy at Cllr William’s leadership.
It later emerged that Cllr Williams and deputy leader, Councillor Peter Horton, had resigned from their positions ahead of the meeting.
Cllr Williams, an independent councillor on Ripon City Council who also sits as an independent on North Yorkshire Council within the Conservatives and Independents political grouping, said he had taken the decision because of poor health.
The motion to remove the positions of leader and deputy leader was made by independent councillor Pauline McHardy, who said it was “ridiculous” for a council of Ripon’s size to have the positions, while Councillor Barbara Brodigan, a Liberal Democrat on North Yorkshire Council as well as a member of Ripon City Council, said decisions had been made under Cllr Williams’ leadership that had not come to full council.
In response, Cllr Williams said claims about his time as leader were “outlandish”.
He added:
I am very angry at the false accusations levelled at me. I have at all times acted in accordance within local government law and in the best interests of the city I was born in, educated within and have lived all my life and generations of my family before me.
'False claims'
Cllr Williams highlighted a number of occasions when decisions had been taken by the full council, including on issues surrounding so-called double devolution and the future of the weekly market in Ripon.
He added:
Standing order 27 clearly states that the leader has no delegated or executive powers, it simply wasn’t possible for me to make any decision on my own as leader nor would I have wanted to.
To make such false claims is also to allege that the staff of Ripon City Council have allowed such breaches of our governance rules to take place. This is deeply offensive to their professional integrity.
All decisions of Ripon City Council are clearly recorded and the minutes of meetings published on our website and are therefore open to public scrutiny.
The roles of leader and deputy leader were introduced during the covid pandemic to ensure the authority could effectively respond to the crisis.
In a further development, an extraordinary meeting will take place on Monday with the agenda including a motion to hold a vote of no confidence in Ripon mayor, Councillor Jackie Crozier.
Other motions include the dissolution of the council’s staffing committee, with the exception of the current chair, and a decision on whether to permanently remove the positions of leader and deputy leader.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the meeting has been requested by several members, including Councillors McHardy and Brodigan, who want to reduce Cllr Williams’ influence on the authority.
Cllr Crozier has not responded after being given the opportunity to comment on the proposed vote of no confidence.
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