Tory wants leader to quit over mayor row (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Tory wants leader to quit over mayor row

8:40am Sunday 28th February 2010 in

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A CALL has been made for the Conservatives’ borough group leader to resign as a councillor over attempts to stop a former chief from becoming mayor.

Rob Blay, chairman of North East Hampshire Conservative Association in 2008-09, has spoken out against Councillor Mark Ruffell, one of the association’s six Basingstoke and Deane Borough councillors, after he led opposition to former Tory group leader Cllr Phil Heath becoming mayor at a meeting on February 11.

Mr Blay believes the attempt to stop Cllr Heath, the current deputy mayor, becoming the borough’s first citizen runs contrary to the council’s constitution.

He has also called for all the other councillors to be called before the association to explain their votes.

Cllr Ruffell and councillors Ranil Jayawardena, Rhydian Vaughan and Marilyn Tucker voted against Cllr Heath. Cllr John Leek abstained and Cllr Keith Chapman – the likely candidate for mayor if Cllr Heath does not get the role – absented himself.

Cllr Ruffell has said he opposed Cllr Heath because the deputy mayor had been expelled from the Conservatives for “abusive behaviour”, had been sent on a training course by the standards committee and is facing four fresh standards complaints against him.

Of the complaints against Cllr Heath, which are still being investigated, two come from Tory councillors and two from council officers – one of whom is borough chief executive Tony Curtis, who was upset at the deputy mayor criticising the local authority’s handling of the snow chaos this winter.

Mr Blay said: “I believe he [Mark Ruffell] should resign forthwith. I don’t think he’s fit to be a councillor. He should be leading the group in doing its business and not getting bogged down in constitutional fights.”

Mr Blay said the constitution clearly states the mayor is chosen on the basis of seniority – which makes Cllr Heath next in line.

He said: “David Cameron said that if you want to see how we would govern the country, look at what we do locally. If this is what we are going to get from the national government, then who would vote for it?

“David Cameron has also said that he wants to get rid of the Standards Board of England because it gets used vexatiously for vindictive complaints against Conservative councillors. But in Basingstoke, we appear to have Conservative councillors appearing to use the standards board as a way of running a vendetta against a former Conservative councillor.”

Mr Blay, a former Bas-ingstoke resident who is now a member of Hartley Wintney Conservatives, said he first met Cllr Heath at the council meeting on Feb-ruary 11.

However, Cllr Ruffell said Mr Blay has no authority, and he added there is no division in the association. The Conser-vative group leader said Mr Blay’s interpretation of the constitution is wrong because solicitors from an independent firm, a neighbouring authority and the borough have said councillors are entitled to have a vote on who should be mayor.

He added: “I’ve read the constitution and I believe I’m entitled to have a vote. I don’t see why I have to account for my actions when there is strong legal support for what we did.”

Cllr Ruffell said the association’s executive committee met last Friday, and Mr Blay did not raise the issue there.

He said: “I think Rob Blay is wrong and we had the full support of North East Hampshire Conservative Association as councillors to act according to conscience in the way we voted. It was a free vote and Rob Blay does not represent the views of North East Hampshire Conservative Association.”

But Cllr Leek, a former council and Conservative group leader, said: “I believe by abstaining I was doing the right thing. I believe we shouldn’t have been having a vote.”

Cllr Chapman said he had “no comment” to make and Cllr Tucker had not returned the call to her when The Gazette went to press. Cllr Jayawardena said the legal advice was that the vote was constitutional and he was surprised at Mr Blay’s comments because the former chairman said nothing on Friday when he saw him.

Cllr Vaughan said: “It’s impertinent of Rob Blay to say I didn’t follow the constitution. I voted with my conscience.”