Poverty Fegg Hayes

Stoke-on-Trent Politics – A Game Show? | Pits n Pots

Now I don’t want to get embroiled in the details of this particular issue all over again, but I think the wider debate regarding the protocol adopted when cabinet members are reported to Standards warrants further exploration.

It was suggested by a number of commentators that any cabinet member facing any allegation should stand down while the matter is investigated by the Standards Committee.

To my way of thinking this suggestion lacks political maturity and stinks of party political games on behalf of the politically disenfranchised party.

The mere suggestion of a cabinet member having to step aside just because someone happens to allege wrong doing shows that our city is still as fragmented as ever.

It matters not what the party is, it matters not who the politician is, to be forced to step aside and relinquish office until proof is found one way or another is wrong.

Many of our politicians locally rely on their council income to live on, indeed to some, their council remuneration is their only income. Why should they be forced to forgo their salary while some potentially scurrilous accusation is either proved or not.

Let’s not forget that it is not above some of the characters in the council chamber to dream up some accusation about their least favourite cabinet member just for the fun of seeing them under investigation and to be forced to step down at a personal cost whilst the due process uncovers there is no case to answer.

Of course, I do believe in the most rigorous forms of public and political scrutiny. I do believe that if someone who holds public office is found to have acted in a manner that does not befit the role of a councillor then they should feel the full weight of the Standards process and any punishment that they incur is as severe as the crime deserves.

Just look at the example of Roger Ibbs’s well documented case. He was forced to step down and forgo his salary for months while a police and then Standards inquiry took place. He was found completely innocent of all accusations. He never got reimbursed, no one from the council ever apologised, no one for the council ever enquired about his well being. To me it was an out and out disgrace the way that someone like Roger, who had served the city for over 30 years, was treated. The whole sorry episode was not one of our city’s proudest moments.

Whether we like it or not, our councillors are employees of the City and as such, in my opinion, they deserve the same protection as any other officer/employee of the council.

Pioneer of wisdom, a newspaper devoted to the ingathering and restoration of Israel

British journal of photography