Liberal Democrats confirm police commissioner candidate

The Liberal Democrats have announced that a City of York councillor will stand for the party at next month’s North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election.

James Barker, who stood for the position in May, is set to contest the commissioner role again.

Mr Barker, who served 24 years in the military, has also served as a scout leader and rugby coach.

At the last election, he told the Stray Ferret that he wanted to “explore why” more officers were not on the frontline and pledged to tackle anti-social behaviour in Ripon.

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An election is being held following the resignation of Philip Allott, who stepped down after comments he made on the murder of Sarah Everard led to hundreds of complaints to his office and a vote of no confidence in him.

Voters will head to the polls to elect a new police commissioner on November 25.

The Conservatives have announced Harrogate councillor, Zoe Metcalfe, will stand for the party on polling day.

Meanwhile, Labour have confirmed that 23-year-old student paramedic, Emma Scott-Spivey, will contest the election.

Keith Tordoff, a former businessman in Pateley Bridge, will also be standing as an independent candidate.

Tories ‘letting public down’ over meeting attendance, says councillor

A Liberal Democrat councillor has accused Harrogate Borough Council’s Conservative ruling party of “letting the public down” by failing to find substitutes for meetings.

Cllr Chris Aldred claimed Tory members had failed to find substitutes on 32 occasions since April – something he said “really upsets me”.

He told a full council meeting on Wednesday: 

“The main purpose of being elected is to represent the public and if we have a place on a committee then we should do our damned hardest to fill it.

“You are letting the side down and you are letting the public down.”

Cllr Aldred also said Lib Dem members had not failed to find a substitute on a single occasion during the same period from April.

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However, council leader Richard Cooper hit back saying there were “various” reasons why members could not attend and that he could not “apologise for there being so many Conservatives on the council”.

The council is made up of 30 Tory councillors, eight Lib Dems and two Ripon Independents.

Cllr Cooper said:

“This is just primarily the product of winning so many elections.

“There is a reason why we win so many elections and have so many committee places to fill, and a reason why you win so few elections and have so few places to fill.”

Cllr Cooper also said illness was a factor that needed to be considered when it came to members missing meetings.

He said: 

“I didn’t really want to go into this, but some individuals on this council aren’t well.”

He also told Cllr Aldred: 

“You say you are speaking for the public. I don’t know quite what mandate you think you have to speak for all the public of the Harrogate district.

“The mandate comes when we have elections. And the last time that mandate was put to the test, this administration secured the highest percentage of seats on this council that have ever been secured.”

The next elections will take place in March 2022 when a new North Yorkshire council is created to replace the county council and seven district councils including Harrogate.

It is likely that the number of councillors in the Harrogate district will be cut by around two-third with possibly just 20 seats up for grabs.

In total, there could be around 89 councillors covering the whole of North Yorkshire.

Fears for thousands of Harrogate district jobs as furlough ends

There are fears for the jobs of around 3,600 workers in the Harrogate district in the wake of last week’s ending of furlough.

The government scheme introduced at the start of the covid outbreak has protected millions of jobs during the pandemic, with Conservative Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones saying it “got our country through the darkest days of the lockdown”.

But Liberal Democrat councillors in the district have warned that businesses and employees could now be hit by a “tidal wave of job losses” unless more support is made available.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the opposition group on Harrogate Borough Council, said the Liberal Democrats both locally and nationally were demanding the scheme be extended for businesses hit hardest by the pandemic.

She said: 

“The withdrawal of furlough risks having a devastating impact on at least 3,600 people in the Harrogate area who are already facing a winter of soaring energy bills and cuts to benefits.

“Supporting them and their families is both the right and responsible thing to do.

“Although many may find work in recovering sectors such as hospitality and travel, there is also likely to be a rise in unemployment due to new redundancies as businesses fail without the support of furlough.”

Some workers who relied on furlough are also now facing the added worry of the end of the £20-a-week boost to Universal Credit.

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This temporary increase to payments, which was introduced in response to the pandemic, ends tomorrow.

Citizens Advice has described this as a “disastrous decision” by the government and warned around 1.5 million claimants across the UK could be pushed into hardship this winter.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of the charity, said: 

“Shop workers, nursery assistants and security guards are just some of the people on Universal Credit seeking our help because they’re already struggling to make ends meet.”

Supported 28,600 jobs in Harrogate district

The furlough scheme supported around 28,600 jobs in the Harrogate district for 18 months.

It saw the government pay around £70 billion towards the wages of employees across the UK who could not work, or whose employers could no longer afford to pay them, up to a monthly limit of £2,500.

At first it paid 80% of their usual wage, but in August and September it paid 60%, with employers paying 20%.

Since its end, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged more than £500 million in fresh funding to help people back into work and support sectors which are facing recruitment crises.

Funding for the new packages will not be set out until later this month and it comes at a time when Mr Sunak and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are facing pressure to ease the historically high tax burden.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Mr Jones said while now was the right time for furlough to end, the extra funding showed the government was willing to continue its support for jobs during the covid recovery.

He added: 

“The furlough scheme is estimated to have cost £70bn and this will need repaying. But the human and financial cost of letting industries, businesses and jobs go to the wall during lockdown would have been catastrophic.

“It is going to be a bumpy road ahead even so but without the actions that were taken it is difficult to imagine what the situation would have been.”

Lib Dems ‘angry about loss of Harrogate funfair and Christmas market’

The leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council has expressed anger at the loss of the Harrogate Christmas Market and the annual funfair on the Stray.

In a statement sent to the Stray Ferret, Cllr Pat Marsh asked why the council couldn’t have been more supportive of the events and pro-active in making them happen.

She also said there was a danger of the Harrogate district acquiring a “reputation of not welcoming and not being supportive of special events”.

She said:

“The Lib Dems on Harrogate Borough Council are very angry at the way that annual events are being cancelled.

“First it was the local Christmas market. That meant local artisans won’t be able to sell their products to residents.

“Now we have the annual funfair being cancelled. That is something thousands of young people have enjoyed over many, many years.

“Why has this been allowed to happen? Why couldn’t the council be more supportive?”

Cllr Marsh also said the decision to prevent the events from going ahead was not one made by all councillors. She was not allowed to attend talks between council officers and the former Christmas market organisers. She said:

“We need to ensure that all councillors are kept informed and have a chance to have an input, we are all elected by the residents to act on their behalf.”

We sent Cllr Marsh’s statement to Harrogate Borough Council for a response but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

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What happened to the annual Harrogate funfair?

The family that stages the funfair told the Stray Ferret the event would not go ahead because Harrogate Borough Council hiked the charge for using Stray land.

Ruby Wilson, who has taken over organising the fair on behalf of her dad John Jameson, said the council had doubled the price from £5,000 to £10,000.

With additional costs on top, including VAT and a £2,000 deposit in case the Stray is damaged, Ms Wilson said the event was no longer viable. The council disputes the claims.

What happened to Harrogate Christmas Market?

Harrogate Borough Council refused a licence for the Harrogate Christmas Market due to concerns about coronavirus, overcrowding and terrorism.

After three weeks of wrangling with the council, co-organiser Brian Dunsby admitted defeat in his battle to hold the event on Montpellier Hill.

It later emerged the council had been engaged in talks with Manchester-based organisers Market Place Europe in March and has now ramped up those discussions about staging an alternative Christmas market in December.

‘No agreement’ on Greens and Lib Dem alliance at next elections

No agreement is in place for Green Party candidates to step aside for the Liberal Democrats in Harrogate district elections in 2022, say local party officials.

However, officials in the Harrogate and District Green Party say they will consider talks ahead of next May.

The party recently agreed with the Liberal Democrats to not stand a candidate in the Knaresborough Scriven Park by-election in an effort to unseat the Conservatives.

As a result, Lib Dem candidate Hannah Gostlow won the seat by 251 votes.

But, Tamsin Worrall, election campaign manager for the Harrogate and District Green Party, said the party had no agreement beyond next year.

She said:

“I must stress there is no agreement for 2022 or 2023. However, I am sure we will be talking about it.

“Whether or not we come to an agreement is another thing.”

Ms Worrall said the recent decision to stand down a candidate was reached after both parties found broad agreement on issues such as the environment.

She said the Greens and Liberal Democrats also agreed that the current voting system, first-past-the-post, did not work for them and gave the Conservatives an advantage.

The party said voters would be “better served” under a new system. However, in the meantime, the Greens may continue to use campaign tactics such as working with other parties to target seats.

Future talks 

The seismic decision to scrap North Yorkshire County Council and the seven districts will mean elections to a new unitary authority next year.

It also means that boundaries for council wards will be redrawn and raises questions over whether the alliance between the Greens and Liberal Democrats may continue under the new authority.

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Cllr David Goode, Liberal Democrat county councillor for Knaresborough, said the outcome in the Knaresborough Scriven Park by-election, which also included a Lib Dem elected to the town council, could not have been done without the cooperation between the two parties.

He said:

“The Liberal Democrat success in getting two councillors elected in the Knaresborough Scriven Park by-election was in part due to the help and support of the Green Party in not fielding a candidate.

“Clearly not splitting the opposition vote can make a difference particularly where the result of a hard fought campaign is likely to give a very close result.”

However, despite the result, the Green Party stood a candidate in the county council by-election for the Bilton and Nidd Gorge ward in May.

The election saw Conservative candidate Cllr Matt Scott win the seat.

Ms Worrall said the party could have stood down, but the turnaround for the by-election was too short and negotiations would not have been completed in time.

However, she said the elections in May 2022 and the new authority for North Yorkshire may open up another opportunity for cooperation.

“I would expect that we will talk at some point.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Goode said greater ties were also needed on a national level to help the parties in a future election.

He said:

“With regards to any future joint cooperation pacts locally between Lib Dems and Green there is still further discussions needed to see if common ground can be identified. 

“This process would be greatly helped if there was improved national cross party links leading to some form of agreement between our parties.”

Lib Dem leader calls for Ripon Leisure Centre safety investigation

The leader of the  Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council has called for an independent investigation into the building of Ripon’s new swimming pool and existing leisure centre after a leading authority on ground stability in Ripon raised serious safety concerns.

Earlier this week the Stray Ferret revealed that geologist Dr Alan Thompson, an expert on the city’s long-standing gypsum and sink hole problems, had sent a strongly worded letter to councillors to highlight his concerns.

His letter referred to an inspection carried out by global consultancy firm Stantec into a “cavity” that appeared near the entrance to the existing leisure centre building in September 2020.

Dr Thompson wrote that he had to intervene as he feared Harrogate Borough Council  was not taking ground stability issues raised within the inspection seriously enough.

Read our exclusive report about Dr Thompson’s concerns and the Stantec report. 

Cllr Pat Marsh, who is the leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, told the Stray Ferret:

“I am not a geologist or engineer but when I read that report I did see that there were some concerns about the leisure centre. I hope they are being addressed.

“That site has always been a concern. It was not easy reading. We need to do a thorough investigation because we are putting lives at risk if we don’t.

“I am now beginning to think fresh eyes would be good to make sure it is safe. We can’t just push this to one side, it is a serious issue.”

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Cllr Pauline McHardy, of Ripon Independents whose ward the leisure centre falls under, said she was “very concerned” by the report.

She said:

“I think its is very concerning, they [the council] are spending an awful lot of money on it.

“What also concerns me is that who is going to responsible for it if we go to a unitary authority?”

Cllr Stan Lumley, who is the conservative cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, told the Stray Ferret what he made of the report:

“It’s a tricky one really. Obviously we are absolutely committed to building the new pool and renovating the existing leisure centre.

“There is a history of ground conditions we were completely aware of. We had taken professional advice to mitigate as far as possible any problems on the site.

“We have invested a great deal of money to get the area safe and prepared for construction. We are now investigating and will address any issues that come up.”

On Tuesday Harrogate Borough Council responded Stray Ferret questions about Dr Thompson’s concerns by issuing a statement:

“Given the well-known ground conditions in Ripon, we employed qualified and experienced geologists and geo-technic engineers to carry out necessary investigation works and advice on what would be required to provide this much need facility.

“A total of 441 grouting sites received 3,043 tonnes of grout which, along with the casting of a reinforced concrete slab, provides the foundation for the new swimming pool building.

“The void which is underneath the existing leisure centre is understood to have been present a number of years. This was only discovered as a result of the work to prepare the new swimming pool site.

“It is now being investigated and should any remedial work be required then it will be carried out.

Andrew Jones MP should be ‘shaking in his shoes’, says local Lib Dem leader

The leader of the local Liberal Democrats says Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Conservative MP Andrew Jones should be “shaking in his shoes” after a shock by-election result yesterday.

In Chesham and Amersham the Lib Dem Sarah Green overturned a 16,000-vote Conservative majority in a seat that has always voted Tory. It’s being described as being part of a “blue wall” in the south of England.

Cllr Pat Marsh told the Stray Ferret she was “delighted” with the result, which she said has given the local party hope that it can overcome a 9,000-vote majority in Harrogate and Knaresborough at the next general election.

Like Harrogate and Knaresborough, the Buckinghamshire constituency has a reasonably affluent and older demographic.

Cllr Marsh said:

“It’s given us a positive boost. It’s shown us that it’s not impossible and it can be done. He can’t be complacent any more.”

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Mr Jones has won four general elections in Harrogate and Knaresborough and first took the seat in 2010. It was held by Liberal Democrat Phil Willis from 1997 until 2010.

In yesterday’s by-election, housing and planning concerns were cited as the biggest reason voters turned their backs on the Conservatives.

Cllr Marsh said she expects housing to be a factor for voters at the next election in Harrogate and Knaresborough, which is currently seeing an unprecedented growth in new build housing developments.

She said Mr Jones “doesn’t listen to people” when it comes to housing concerns:

“Central government has allowed developers free rein throughout this country. It’s had a devastating effect in parts of Harrogate.”

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Jones for a response, but he did not reply by the time of publication.

Council described as ‘inward looking’ after Stray Ferret secrecy investigation

Political parties in the Harrogate district have criticised the borough council after an investigation into secrecy by the Stray Ferret.

The Liberal Democrats in Harrogate have described the authority as “inward looking”, while Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party said they were “disturbed” by the findings.

Our research found that Harrogate Borough Council had a shocking record of withholding information from the public on key issues such as contracts and the Harrogate Convention Centre.

The findings showed the borough council had three times more restricted papers than the second highest comparable council and nearly 25 times as many as the lowest.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on the council, said the authority was fast becoming an organisation where information is not always available.

She said:

“I have been on the council for 31 years and when I got elected all councillors made the decisions at various committees, the cabinet system has brought about an elite hierarchy who are kept updated, make most of the decisions, whilst the rest of us often learn things from local press releases rather than the council.

“There are legitimate reasons for some pink papers especially when commercial confidentiality is needed and personal details of officers and members need protecting but beyond that then the public, whose money it is, should always be made aware.”

Cllr Marsh added:

“It is in inward looking council who appear to want to exclude most people and are afraid of allowing others to make decisions.

“I tried to get the committee system reinstated but all the Conservatives voted against it. The committee system would open the council up to everyone and that can only be of benefit to us all and the council should not shy away from criticism and re-thinks.”

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Meanwhile, the Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party said it was disturbed at the number of restricted papers.

A spokesperson said:

“Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party finds that it is disturbing to note that a number of significant contracts have been awarded apparently without recourse to a competitive/open tendering process, especially in view of the current national issues around the awarding of Government contracts and lobbying by former ministers.

“Such a large number of council and cabinet papers have been restricted and are not in the public domain. It is surprising that the Liberal Democrats appear not to have held the administration to account over these matters.

“We look forward to an informative response from the council. After all, it’s important that local taxpayers know how their money is being spent by the Tory council.”

Our findings also showed that the borough council has an inconsistent approach to disclosing information to the press and public.

On two significant occasions, the council decided to withhold information where thousands of pounds of public money was spent – only to later publish it when challenged.

Cllr Pauline McHardy, who represents Ripon Independents on the borough council, said she found it “bizarre” that information was withheld.

She said:

“This is public money that we are talking about and the public have a right to know what it is being spent on.

“It seems they are being economical with the information. I cannot understand why they put it straight out onto Twitter, not everybody uses social media.”

The Stray Ferret approached both the Conservative leader of the council, Richard Cooper, and Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones, for comment but did not receive a response.

In response to our investigation, a spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“We are an ambitious council with several multi-million pound and major projects underway, including new sport and leisure facilities and investment in Harrogate Convention Centre.

“This is for the benefit of our residents and for the district to be known as the best place to work, live and visit.

“This means, compared to other councils, we probably have more than the average number of commercial contracts being tendered.

“In 2020/21 we dealt with 822 requests under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations of 2004.

“Both make provision for keeping some information, which is commercially sensitive and may prejudice our commercial or contractual interests, exempt from disclosure.  The same applies to personal information.

“We apply exemptions only when we need to, and if the legislation permits, but sometimes we take the view that keeping information exempt is outweighed by the public interest in disclosing it.

“This means, in certain circumstances, we may decide there is a good reason for releasing otherwise confidential or commercially sensitive information.

“We pride ourselves on being and open and transparent council.

“We publish all spending over £250, agendas, reports and papers can be found on our website and anyone is welcome to attend one of our various committee and council meetings – most recently virtually – and from this week in person.”

“We are committed to explaining how council taxpayers’ money is spent.

“More information is available on our website: https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/data-protection-freedom-information/data-transparency.”

LibDems, Labour and Greens in Harrogate district consider collaboration

Informal discussions could take place between the local Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green parties about working together.

The move follows Conservative Matt Scott’s victory in last week’s Bilton and Nidd Gorge by-election.

Arnold Warneken, who represented Harrogate and District Green Party, told the Stray Ferret he had approached the Liberal Democrats and Labour about setting up a meeting.

Mr Warneken said co-operation “made sense” and he hoped some form of progressive alliance would emerge.

Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, said collaboration with other parties was “a discussion that needs to be had” and she was open-minded on the subject.

Cllr Marsh described the loss of the seat on North Yorkshire County Council formally held by the Liberal Democrat Geoff Webber as “a huge shock and disappointment”.

Asked why she felt voters had turned against the Liberal Democrats, she said:

“I have no idea. With all the sleaze and cronyism taking place and I am at a total loss to understand why anyone still votes for the Conservatives.”

Asked if she would consider her position as leader following the by-election defeat, she said she had been re-elected two weeks ago and intended to carry on.

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Margaret Smith, chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party, said it was not averse to discussions but its ability to enter into any formal arrangement with other parties would be determined by the national Labour Party. She said:

“It’s about building a progressive alternative and when we agree on issues we would like to work with anyone, irrespective of party membership or support.

“It is a matter of building coalitions, issue by issue, where we agree.”

The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Scott, who won 43 per cent of the vote in Bilton and Nidd Gorge, why he felt voters had switched to the Conservatives and what was top of his agenda but he declined to answer.

 

 

Council needs to urgently address £632,000 staff payments, say Lib Dems

The leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council has said the authority needs to look urgently at its payout packages to staff after auditors recommended a rethink on how they are agreed.

It was revealed in the council’s statement of accounts that it had paid out £632,000 in exit packages in the past two years.

A report from independent auditors Mazars recommended a review on how payments, including redundancy cash and compensation for loss of office, are agreed for departing members of staff.

The borough council said it would carry out a review but added that the current process already ensured there is a “clear rationale” for the payments which are “properly authorised”.

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on the borough council, said the authority needed to look “urgently” at its process.

She said:

“The council needs to address this urgently.

“It is public money and I think members should understand and leaders of groups should understand about the payments and how they are made.

“It is a lot of money for us to pay out.”

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Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party said:

“Compensation for loss of office or employment payments are complex.

“I am sure the proposed review by the council will look into any of  these type of payments made recently. I would suggest that In future for such cases, at least two signatories are required within the structure and that one is the chief executive, if the suggested payment is a five figure sum or above.”

It comes after figures published in the council’s annual statement of accounts showed £354,000 was paid out to 19 former employees in 2019/2020 – an increase from the previous financial year when £278,000 was agreed for 15 staff.

Among the payments was £55,065 to Paul Campbell, the council’s former director of community who left suddenly last March.

Mazars has warned the current process, which sees payments signed off by a monitoring officer, risks a lack of balance between “inappropriate expenditure” and “allowing ineffective employment relationships to continue”.

In its report, auditors recommended that any payment should be signed off by elected councillors.

In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a spokesperson for the authority said:

“The council’s constitution currently provides for delegated approval by the monitoring officer for settlement agreements.

“Although the number of cases are relatively small, we will review the process in line with the audit recommendation.”