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04
Jul 2023
Ripon councillor rejects ‘Tory puppet’ accusations
Ripon independent councillor Andrew Williams has defended his decision to align himself with the Conservatives on North Yorkshire Council.
Last week, North Yorkshire’s Conservatives revealed that three independent councillors will form a Conservatives and Independents group to avoid the risk of the party losing overall control of the authority.
This is because the balance of power was finely poised with the Tories having 45 councillors — the same number as the opposition parties and independents when combined.
One of the councillors to join the alliance is Ripon Minster & Moorside councillor Andrew Williams, who was elected as a Ripon Independent in May 2022 with 1,453 votes.
But his decision was criticised by the Liberal Democrat councillor for Ripon Ure Bank & Spa, Barbara Brodigan, who told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Cllr Williams had put party politics before the residents of Ripon and will now be a “Tory puppet” on the authority.
During last year’s election the Conservative candidate in Cllr Williams’ division registered only 334 votes and Cllr Brodigan said the the move was a “betrayal of the residents” who voted for him as an independent.
However, Cllr Williams defended his decision in an interview with the LDRS this morning and said the move was necessary to maintain stability on the council.
He argued his independence will be maintained and that residents voted for him to put the interests of Ripon first.
Cllr Williams said:
Read more:
- 'Ripon did not want a Tory and now they have one', claims councillor
- Ripon Independent councillor Andrew Williams joins Tory alliance
Cllr Williams is also the leader of Ripon City Council which has put in a bid to run the city’s market square and town hall under North Yorkshire Council’s “double-devolution” pilot scheme. A decision on which bids are successful is expected next year.
Cllr Brodigan accused Cllr Williams of “taking the Tory shilling” but he denied that any formal deal had been agreed that would see Ripon City Council’s bid being chosen in return for supporting the Conservatives in Northallerton.
He added:
Cllr Williams, who was a Liberal Democrat councillor on Harrogate Borough Council during the 1990s, described Cllr Brodigan’s criticism as “hypocrisy“.
He said:
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