Last night, an explosive extraordinary meeting of Ripon City Council saw both its mayor and deputy mayor resign.

The move came after a group of seven rebel councillors tabled a motion of no confidence in mayor, Cllr Jackie Crozier. 

The decision by Cllr Crozier was the culmination of a period of serious political turbulence at the authority which has divided the council and, it seems, many residents in Ripon. It now leaves questions over the future direction of the council.

But what exactly happened in Ripon last night and what does it mean for the city?

A power struggle

The issue at the heart of this are the roles at the top of the council and how seven councillors felt too much power was held by the people in those positions. The rebels began by calling for the Leader and Deputy Leader roles to be abolished but were told this could only be acheived at an extraordinary council meeting — so they called one. 

Before the meeting was held however,  Cllr Andrew Williams, leader of the city council, resigned on what he has maintained were medical grounds. But he essentially jumped before he was pushed — knowing that the rebel councillors outnumbered his allies. 

Cllr Peter Hornton, the deputy leader of the council, also then resigned.

But it was not enough for the rebel councillors that Cllr Williams and his deputy had resigned - they wanted more. The extraordinary meeting of the council went ahead last night and included a motion to hold a vote of no confidence in Ripon mayor, Cllr Jackie Crozier. Cllr Crozier has been an ally of Cllr Williams. 

Other motions included 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 night was successful for the rebels. A vote to amend standing orders so that Ripon will no longer have a leader and deputy leader was carried. The mayor, Cllr Crozier, who was absent from the meeting on medical grounds, opted to resign from her position prior to a vote on the matter taking place.

In a statement issued following the meeting, she said “the level of games, petty briefings, and internal politics” was not something she wished to chair within the council.

Her deputy, Cllr Gary Camplejohn, also resigned.

So who are the rebel councillors?

The motion was made by independent councillor Pauline McHardy, who said it was “ridiculous” for a council of Ripon’s size to have two leadership positions. Alongside her, 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 a response, which was published by the Stray Ferret, Cllr Williams, an independent councillor on Ripon City Council who also sits as an independent on North Yorkshire Council, said the claims were “outlandish” and said he was “very angry at the false accusations levelled at me”.

The meeting was requested by several councillors, including Councillors McHardy and Brodigan.

During last night’s meeting, Cllr Brodigan said the reason for the vote of no confidence was because the “mayor has been acting over and above her role as chair of the council”.

She added that the motion was based on "actions and behaviours in the council offices" which took place in front of employees, but these were "confidential and cannot be shared".

The motion to some in the packed public gallery lacked transparency. 

Meanwhile, some councillors said those proposing the motion were "hiding behind confidentiality".

The whole saga then spilled onto social media, which has been awash with bitter claims both in favour and opposed to the mayor.

Future direction?

In the space of a week, the political foundations of Ripon City Council have been rocked with four resignations.

While the authority no longer has a formal leader and deputy leader, it will continue to have a mayor — which councillors will now have to elect following the resignation of Cllr Crozier.

However, the scale of the politcal manoeuvring leaves questions over what the future direction of the city council is going to be. 

It's worth noting that neither Harrogate Town Council or Knaresborough Town Council have the role of leader and deputy leader.