Outcome of investigation into town’s 15 councillors

Almost all members of a Herefordshire town council have been investigated for conduct violations following an online spat about how its top posts were allocated.

But it has now been declared that none of them broke the rules.

The complaints stemmed from an online post by independent Ross-on-Wye councillor Milly Boylan, who claimed members of the town council’s majority Liberal Democrat group had met ahead of its annual meeting last month to determine, in a written decision she had seen, who among them would take the roles of mayor, deputy mayor and chairs of the council’s various committees.

The post of mayor went to Coun Linden Delves with Coun Sarah Freer voted in as his deputy, both with block support of their LibDem colleagues.

Having stood unsuccessfully to be deputy mayor, Coun Boylan posted afterwards: “It was always pointless me or anyone else going for any of these things.”

Independent councillor Daniel Lister replied he “no longer trusted” colleagues who “say they don’t go to pre-meetings but it’s in black and white they do”.

Independent colleague Coun Katie Fowler added: “They have always done it and it’s wrong.”

An unnamed LibDem councillor then made a formal complaint against the three independents, and against sole Conservative councillor Valerie Coker for good measure – followed in turn by complaints by a member of the public against all 11 LibDems.

Herefordshire Council’s monitoring officer Claire Porter, effectively the chief legal figure in the county, has now ruled that none of the 15 were guilty of a conduct breach over the episode.

LibDem councillor James Vidler had told her the complaint against him and party colleagues was “politically motivated” and that the complainant had “a personal relationship” with Coun Boylan.

Coun Boylan has since posted that the investigation “has made me really consider stepping down as a councillor… it’s having a really negative impact on me”.

Coun Lister replied: “If we are going to be put under review each time we simply do our role as a councillor, I too now question my role.”

A year ago, Coun Boylan put herself forward as the town’s “not-Mayor” after claiming she had been shut out by the LibDems from a tilt at the actual position.