Neyland Councillor Claims He Was Bullied In Private No-Confidence Vote

Neyland’s deputy mayor claims he is being intimidated into silence after he was subject to a private no-confidence vote earlier this week.

While the no-confidence call in Cllr Steve Thomas was held in private at the March 6 meeting of the town council, a public statement was later made available.

Following a request from the Local Democracy Service, a statement was issued by Neyland Town Councillor Andrew Lye at the request of Mayor Cllr Mike Harry.

“At the full council of Neyland Town Council, held on Monday, March 6, councillors discussed a Notice of Motion proposed by Cllr Andrew Lye and seconded by Council Chair, Cllr Mike Harry. It was also signed by three other councillors.

“In view of the sensitive nature of the motion, it was discussed after a vote was taken to exclude the press and public.

“The Notice of Motion was a no confidence vote in the deputy mayor, Cllr Steve Thomas. The one sentence motion said that in view of events at Neyland Town Council since late 2022, the council had no confidence in the deputy mayor.

“After a long debate, the motion was carried by six votes, with one abstention.

“It does not mean that the deputy mayor has been removed or asked to resign.”

Despite a request for information on the ‘sensitive nature’ of the motion, or ‘the events since late 2022,’ no further details were forthcoming.

Following the no-confidence vote, former NHS Paramedic and Army Combat Medical Technician Cllr Thomas said: “I joined the council to continue to try to do some good in the community, and I have brought about some positive initiatives and change.

“The last thing that I expected was to have to battle from one thing to the next to ensure the right thing was being done.”

He added: “I have spoken out about the way the views of the public are dismissed, particularly by Cllr Harry; spoken up when members of the public are abused and treated highly inappropriately in public meetings. I’ve uncovered a number of concerns and raised concerns brought to me by members of the public, I have been treated dreadfully by the council in recent months as a result of this.

“It is the view of the council that I should not be asking questions or scrutinising council business or the clerk, should not be seeking information or advice from outside agencies, and I should not be raising my concerns in public meetings, nor through email.

“As a result, councillors and the clerk have tried to use this motion to discredit me and intimidate me into silence, that is exactly why I called for the motion to be discussed in front of the press and public, that was refused, and they were wrongfully expelled from the meeting.”

Neyland county councillor Simon Hancock, who was present at the meeting, said he had not heard of a similar vote of no confidence in his near-36 years of association with the town council.

“I was removed from the meeting, along with other members if the public, and indeed the press.

“I was surprised this was done since there was no specific item on the agenda to discuss going into closed session, and the relevant local government legislation was not referred to or cited.”

Cllr Mike Harry and Clerk Vanessa Walker were approached for a comment.

Neyland Town Council responded in a statement: “The exclusion of the press representative and public was carried out in accordance with Neyland Town Council’s Standing Orders 10 and 11.  There was a debate and a vote before the exclusion was announced.

“The reason for the exclusion was that confidential matters relating to the health and welfare of individuals were likely to be discussed.  The meeting was not recorded for that part of the agenda.

“We have no wish to comment further at this stage as we should avoid influencing any scrutiny which may take place as part of formal referrals to Public Standards or the Local Authority Ombudsman.”