Conservatives table vote of no confidence against Spelthorne leader and deputy

Conservatives have called for Spelthorne Borough Council leader, Cllr Joanne Sexton, and deputy leader, Cllr Chris Bateson, to step down. It comes after the leader was told she must face a new hearing into her conduct for mistreating a senior staff member and allegedly failing to apologise.

Cllr Sexton said she had followed the panel’s ruling and issued the required apology.

The Independent Spelthorne Group member for Ashford East was found to have not treated a senior officer with respect after a misconduct meeting behind closed doors in October. Allegations of bullying were dropped due to lack of evidence.

The leader and her deputy must face fellow councillors after a motion was tabled calling for a vote of no confidence on Thursday, December 12. The motion only needs a simple majority to pass. But Conservative councillors must get the support of Labour, Green, Lib Dem and Independent members – the ruling majority- for it to go through.

“The leader should be an example, and she failed to do that,” said Conservative Party leader, Cllr John Boughtflower, who tabled the motion. “How is this person supposed to be the spokesperson for the council?”

Cllr Sexton was ordered to apologise for her actions- but six weeks later, a ‘virtually meaningless’ and ‘heavily caveated’ email had been sent to the committee. The council leader had said she had privately apologised to the complainant.

He said he was “absolutely shocked” by the leader’s behaviour towards council staff. Cllr Boughtflower added it was “normal common sense and decency” for someone to apologise as soon as reasonably possible.

Cllr Sexton previously told the LDRS: “I accepted the findings of the standards panel in line with their ruling, I duly submitted a written apology. To the best of my knowledge a majority of members of the panel accepted my written apology and therefore I believed I had followed the panel’s ruling and issued the apology that was required.”

Cllr Boughtflower said there has been a “suitcase of things” that has led to this point. He mentioned the Local Plan has been delayed by two years, the recently approved planning appeal of a care home in Sunbury and the government’s review into the borough’s debt.

Also calling for the deputy to resign, the Conservatives said Cllr Bateson “should have stepped up” and “held the leader to account”. If the motion succeeds, councillors would have to re-elect a new leader and deputy for Spelthorne.

The Liberal Democrat councillor said: “To the best of my knowledge and belief the majority on the Sub Committee panel accepted her written apology.” He added that the matter is now being investigated further and he has no further comments to make at this time.