Wiltshire Council leader did not breach code, official rules

Calne Town Councillor Bobby Seymour filed the complaint last week, following comments made by Cllr Ian Thorn - who is also the mayor of Calne - during a vote of no confidence in his mayoralty.

During the meeting, Cllr Thorn announced that a deal had been struck with the operator of a household recycling centre near the town to keep it open.

Wiltshire Council's Liberal Democrat administration had previously said they wanted to close the two facilities - at Purton and at Lower Compton, near Calne - because they were too expensive to run.

Wiltshire Council was not formally told about the deal until a cabinet meeting the following day.

In his complaint, Cllr Seymour claimed Cllr Thorn had "predetermined" a cabinet decision, and breached the Nolan Principles - a set of ethical standards for public office-holders - through the use of executive office in the context of a vote concerning his own mayoral position.

But this week, the council's monitoring officer, Perry Holmes, ruled that no breach of the Code of Conduct occurred and that no further action will be taken.

Cllr Seymour told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the decision not to investigate the complaint. 

"These remarks were made before Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet had formally considered or decided upon the matter,” he said.

“To me, it seems like he pulled this rabbit out of the hat to save his political skin, without knowing whether or not it would have been approved or whether it was financially viable.

“Residents are entitled to question how major policy commitments can be publicly described as an ‘absolute commitment’ before the formal decision-making process has even taken place.

"It is unacceptable, given the evidence available of these comments, that Wiltshire Council will not investigate its own Leader for this clear breach of process.

“But this is the same Council officers who concluded there was no conflict of interest in Cllr Thorn also being chairman of a company which advises companies on planning processes despite his role as leader being integral in these issues at Wiltshire Council.”

Cllr Thorn told the LDRS: "I am pleased with the decision, and perhaps now I can get back to working for the residents of Calne and the whole of Wiltshire."