A Tory member of Marlborough town council, who resigned claiming that he and his colleagues were the subject of “playground bullying tactics” by other councillors, has failed to substantiate his claims.
Former mayor Councillor Robin Notton has ignored both a personal letter and an email sent to him by Councillor Edwina Fogg, who is Marlborough’s current mayor.
She has seen Mr Notton twice at local events since he announced his surprise resignation in May from the 16-strong council, and Mr Nottton has also refused to explain his resignation reasons to Marlborough News Online.
But Mr Notton, a town councillor for 21 years, has still not verified his claims, some of which have already been identified as inaccurate, in particular his statement that none of the then six elected Tory councillors had been appointed as a committee chairman.
“He looked a little sheepish but did not saying anything except hello and good morning,” the Mayor told Marlborough News Online. “I do find the situation totally unsatisfactory given the headlines these allegations produced in a local newspaper.
“I take these allegations very seriously and unless they can be verified in detail then they need to be dismissed as out of hand and be stricken from the record.”
The Mayor is now considering making a complaint about Councillor Notton’s accusations to the Standards Board so that they can be properly investigated by an independent organisation.
Yet, ironically, a code of conduct which Wiltshire Council has adopted under the new Localism legislation has omitted a significant clause specifically dealing with councillors’ behaviour.
This states: “He/She shall behave in such a way that a reasonable person would regard as respectful. He/She shall not act in a way which a reasonable person would regard as bullying or intimidatory.”
Councillor Stewart Dobson, leader of the now four-strong Tory group, who along with his wife, Councillor Marian Hannaford Dobson, were said by Mr Notton to be the victims of “bullying”, surprisingly proposed that it also be omitted from the new code of conduct adopted by Marlborough councillors for future use.
But former mayor, Councillor Nick Fogg, who is also a Wiltshire councillor, protested that the omission of the bullying clause had already been declared as “defective” and rejected by other town and parish councils in the county.
The town council decided by eight votes to seven to include the “bullying” clause in its future code of conduct.
Mayor Fogg told Marlborough News Online: “I shall announce later what course I intend to take. We cannot allow allegations about this council to be permanently left on the record if there is no evidence whatsoever to substantiate them.”
