Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Conservative parliamentary candidate, has called for Sir Alan Beith MP to intervene in the crisis in Berwick Town Council and has revealed that she is working with a number of residents who have raised concerns about openness and transparency within several other local councils in Northumberland.
Responding to questions put to her, following the recent Berwick Town Council meeting, where the police were called when the public refused to leave over an item deemed “confidential” . She writes; “as I understand it, members of the public, of differing political persuasions and none, refused to leave because they strongly believed that the matter should not be dealt with behind closed doors” and that, although she is a strong advocate of the importance of upholding law and order she also believes very strongly in the right to peaceful protest.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan says that it is seems that Berwick Town Council is now “fairly dysfunctional” and calls for Alan Beith to intervene in the same way that the MPs for Lewes and Durham have done in similar situations in town councils within their constituencies. She also lays down a challenge, to the man she hopes to replace as MP at the next election, writing; “Just as I have been challenged over whether the Conservative Party still holds its traditional position as the party of law and order, perhaps, in the light of actions by his colleagues, Alan Beith can confirm whether his party has abandoned its liberal principles of openness and freedom of speech?”
Anne-Marie Trevelyan has also told of how she is assisting a number of local Councillors and residents who have raised concerns about the lack of openness and transparency in several other councils in Northumberland especially at the Parish/Town Council level.
She writes; “The Conservative Party are championing the principles of openness and transparency in local government. Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Local Government has recently brought in a range of measures including giving members of the public and press the legal right to be able to film and record council meetings and forcing Councils to publish spending decisions including those made by officers under 'delegated authority'. I am a strong supporter of this and am presently working with local people across Northumberland who are struggling to get these new powers into practise in their local parish or town council. I believe that stronger oversight through a local Ombudsman may be required where some Councillors refuse to make their actions more transparent.”
Local Government Minister Kris Hopkins commented:
“We are sorry to hear of the on-going problems within Berwick Town Council. Localism needs transparency to thrive; it’s essential that more power and discretion for councils, including Berwick, is accompanied by greater openness and local accountability. This Government has opened up council books and given the press and public new rights to report council meetings. But we agree there’s far more to do, especially to ensure that council information is published in a more accessible way. The new Transparency Code which came into legal force this week will further strengthen the role of armchair auditors and support the open data community.”
Letter
Sir,
I write in reply to Mr Ian Campbell's letter, featured in the Berwick Advertiser last week, regarding the recent Berwick Town Council meeting where the police were called when the public refused to leave over an item on the agenda deemed by the Mayor and others to be "confidential". Ian Campbell asks whether the Berwick Conservative Party believe in "mob rule" and my position on the Conservative Party's long standing commitment to law and order and whether this will now be dropped from our manifesto. I am pleased to confirm that I remain a strong advocate of the importance of upholding law and order and of a robust and fair justice system, this is also the view of the wider party. I also believe very strongly in the right to peaceful protest. Regarding the specific matter of the Berwick Town Council meeting, as I understand it, members of the public, of differing political persuasions and none, refused to leave because they strongly believed that the matter should not be dealt with behind closed doors. I also understand that no police action was taken and no offences were committed. It seems to me that those members of the public were engaging in that democratic right, available to those living in free societies, to take part in a peaceful protest. The Conservative Party are championing the principles of openness and transparency in local government. Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Local Government has recently brought in a range of measures including giving members of the public and press the legal right to be able to film and record council meetings and forcing Councils to publish spending decisions including those made by officers under "delegated authority". I am a strong supporter of this and am presently working with local people across Northumberland who are struggling to get these new powers into practise in their local parish or town council. I believe that stronger oversight through a local Ombudsman may be required where some Councillors refuse to make their actions more transparent. I cannot comment on the details of what has been going on in Berwick Town Council over the last year, but it seems to me that the Council is fairly dysfunctional, and I call on our MP, Sir Alan Beith,to intervene in the same way that his colleagues, the MP for Lewes and the MP for Durham, have done in similar circumstances in relation to town councils in their constituencies. Just as I have been challenged over whether the Conservative Party still holds its traditional position as the party of law and order, perhaps, in the light of actions by his colleagues, Alan Beith can confirm whether his party has abandoned its liberal principles of openness and freedom of speech? Yours faithfully,
Anne-Marie Trevelyan