22 August (Part 1) - Here we go again, sadly
Emailed
messages like that three paragraphs below, well intended though they are, are a little bit
worrying for they suggest a misunderstanding of my position on the
Conservative’s Mayoral event held in the Council Chamber. Yes it was technically
in breach of Paragraph 7.2b of the Code of Conduct rules but it shouldn’t be.
It would be amazing if the rebuilt £42 million Woolwich Building Society headquarters did not
include Committee Rooms for use of political parties and that is entirely
consistent with the needs of democracy in the borough; and if the room is not
big enough or sufficiently prestigious for guests then why not use a more
appropriate room?
Who cares? Well @tonyofsidcup
did and not for the first time our views differed.
The reader’s email…
For balance, Labour often use civic offices for meetings that are not strictly council business.
Training their political candidates who are not in possession of a council pass is just one example.
They are all as bad as each other.
Very probably, but for me that is not the issue.
For 14 years almost to the day BiB has tried to expose the dishonesty within
Bexley Council and I thought with some success. The number of Councillor bad
eggs has almost fallen off the scale but senior officers, presumably aware that
their jobs depend on it, too often stray from the straight and narrow.
Over the past two days I have come by two pieces of documentary evidence which
confirm that the Mayoral Election meeting was entirely political while the
Monitoring Officer swears that it was not. If you cannot rely on a Monitoring
Officer being honest and transparent all is lost.
I contemplated going directly to the police alleging Misconduct in Public
Office. An untruthful Monitoring Officer is the epitome of malfeasance and
cannot be tolerated. I wrote a long blog on the subject at dawn this morning but
guided by the wise words of a Councillor friend I stood on the brake pedal.
I did however suggest to @tonyofsidcup that he might go down the Misconduct
route but he confirmed that our views differ and that his target was the Leader.
Since then I believe he may have changed his mind and come around to my point of
view.
As a result, things are developing more quickly than anticipated and to ensure that the Press is
reliably informed the following is published earlier than I at first considered
appropriate. But this is serious stuff and maybe needs to be tackled in a more
forceful manner.
Dear Ms. Narebor,
A month ago Mr. Shvorob sent me a copy of his complaint against the Council
Leader alleging that the meeting with the Conservative Mayoral candidates
breached the Code of Conduct rules on using Council resources for political
purposes.
It seemed to me at the time that and it still does that if Councillors
gathering in Committee Rooms to discuss strategy and perhaps overflowing
into other rooms is a breach of Section 7.2b, then consideration should be
given to amending those rules.
However instead of dismissing the complaint as too trivial to contemplate
you chose to accept the rule but make out that the meeting was not political
but “business”. There is a strong implication that Councillors of all
parties and none were welcome and that Mayoral candidates from every party
were present.
You specifically state that the absence of the Labour party and other
Mayoral candidates does not mean that the Council’s premises were used for a
Conservative Party event but clearly they were.
Susan Hall the Conservative Mayoral candidate said it was a Conservative
Group event, as did her rival Moz Hossain who used that very word. Two
Bexley Conservative Councillors are on the record saying the same.
Additionally the Labour Leader confirmed that he was “not expecting an
invite as it is an internal Conservative party matter”.
Yet you have gone out of your way to portray it as a regular Council
business event in order to deflect a rule breach of no consequence whatever.
A Monitoring Officer who is not totally honest and transparent is at the
opposite end of the rule breaching spectrum.
I am sorely tempted to report you to the police with an allegation of
Misconduct in Public Office.
Can you think of any reason why I should not do so?
yours sincerely,
Malcolm Knight
(Resident DA17 5RJ)