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11
Mar 2021
Harrogate council dismisses all complaints made against councillors last year
Harrogate Borough Council decided to take no further action against nine complaints that were made against parish and district councillors over the past year.
Council documents reveal a complaint against a parish councillor's conduct on social media, as well as three others, were dismissed as they related to councillors' behaviour in a private capacity.
Another complaint about "disrespectful terminology" used to describe another councillor’s comments during a debate was dismissed due to freedom of speech.
The report by Jennifer Norton, head of legal & governance, does not refer to any councillors by name but says five complaints were made against parish councillors and four were against district councillors.
The council has a legal duty to respond to complaints against councillors. When a complaint is made, it is investigated by the council's "independent person", Alan Mitcheson, alongside Ms Norton.
In 2019/20 there were 19 complaints made against councillors.
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The Stray Ferret reported last year that several complaints were made against Cllr Ernie Butler, a parish councillor for Darley, after he made comments online where he called for a “White Lives Matter” protest.
Harrogate Borough Council said at the time that its code of conduct does not extend to social media comments made by councillors.
However, his comments were criticised by HBC council leader Richard Cooper. In a council meeting, he called Cllr Butler's comments "deplorable and just really shocking."
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