Councillor calls for election following resignation

A MEMBER of Westbury Town Council, David Tout, has resigned his position as representative of the Westbury West ward. Fellow town councillor, Russell Hawker, is now urging the town to press for an election for David’s replacement, rather than co-option.

For an election to take place, at least 10 people need to make a request.  If the town council does not receive at least 10 requests,  they can co-opt a resident of their choosing, without an election going ahead.

Electors have until Friday 11th May to request an election. If an election is called, it will take place no later than Tuesday 17th July.

Cllr Russell Hawker said, “The town council has 15 seats of which now only seven are filled by elected councillors, one is vacant and the rest are filled by seven co-optees. This is a truly dreadful situation in terms of local government democracy and whether the town council properly has a true mandate to represent the town. If another co-option occurred, there would then be a majority of co-opted councillors.

“We need to give electors a chance to elect someone who will therefore have a full democratic mandate to represent local electors and so help to improve the overall mandate of the council.

“This is not a criticism of the existing co-optees. They are simply the volunteers who came forward to help fill empty seats after the all-out ordinary elections in May last year.

“Overall, they are making good progress in getting to grips with the work of the council, a process that takes at least a year for most new councillors whether newly- elected or co-opted.

“Once a by-election is called, I hope to help an Independent candidate with a view to that person winning the seat. I would ask anyone interested in running as an Independent (ie. not a member of a political party) to contact me so that I can explain the comprehensive help I can give to them.

“I have done this many times in the last decade and almost always the candidate I have backed has won. I say this in the context of me being the longest continuously standing current town councillor and also the longest-standing current Independent councillor in Westbury and the fact that good candidates usually do ask me to help.”

Deputy Mayor, cllr Ian Cunningham said during a recent town council meeting, “I would like to thank cllr Tout for his work as vice-chair of the highways, planning and development committee. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of every manhole cover and lamppost in Westbury, which was extremely useful in terms of identifying properties if we were struggling. Thank you, David, for your service.”

Requests for an election should be made to the Returning Officer, Dr Carlton Brand, Electoral Services, Wiltshire Council, County Hall, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8JN.