Posted on Monday, 25th July 2016 | 4 Comments I was one of at least 150 people present at tonight’s Full Parish Council Monthly Meeting (25th July). There was much anger and disbelief in the room at the behaviour of the MPC and with its extraordinary state of denial. There will be many others who comment on the detail of what happened I am sure. With the help of the CAPALC staff and some articulate questions from the floor it became clear that all public trust in the Parish Council has evaporated. There were calls from all quarters for the council to resign en masse but it was very unclear to what extent this message hit home. At least half of the councillors, including the chairman, seemed to remain in a state of denial. The saddest part of the proceedings was that the audience were laughing at the council’s attempts to justify past and present behaviour. When the efforts of public bodies become a public joke they should stop and rethink. I suspect some councillors, particularly the chairman, fail to realise how morally undermined they have become in the eyes of the village they purport to represent. I implore the chairman to finally show leadership and declare his resignation, calling on all councillors to follow his lead and also resign, with the aim of bringing about a full Parish Council re-election. This will allow present councillors, should they feel they still so deserve, and others to seek a renewed vote of confidence in the composition of this vital local body. Posted on behalf of a Melbourn resident
I think the previous post is missing several points that the public are making. The claim to have personally “done nothing wrong” is neither here nor there at this moment. The former council had collective responsibility for hiding serious wrongdoing and the public now want to see commitment to achieve maximum elected seats to restore their faith in democracy. Councillors are in a position of trust and this has been shattered through no-one’s fault but their own. If the public wish to choose a new Council line up, then this ‘bed blocking’ by a few councillors, as if they have a personal ‘right’, is unlikely to attract public trust or respect for them as individual councillors. Melbourn hasn’t had a Parish Council election for years, so people have been co-opted by fellow councillors rather than elected by the public and have remained on the Council as a result for years. It has now become an expectation for them regardless of their performance or commitment. Isn’t this now a good opportunity to give the village choice through a proper election? If remaining councillors believe that they are still worthy of a seat then they should prove this by standing in the election but clearly this is not going to happen . As for sending letters to a councillor’s home, why would this be concerning? Councillors provide their home address in the Melbourn magazine and on the Parish Council website and have put themselves forward for public service and scrutiny, so should expect to receive regular public correspondence. I should have thought that challenging strangers to turn up and confront you personally at your home would have been far more distressing for someone’s family. If there is one good thing to come out of all of this, it is the intense interest sparked by the community to really get involved and to try and create and support a professional, diligent and respected Council. Reply
Just to let you all know. I have done nothing wrong and therefor will NOT BE RESIGNING UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! I am aware of the comments on facebook and this website . The comments on facebook have been reported,and the others have been shown to a soliciter with a view to taking the matter further. Sending letters to my home is harrassment. Particulaly as is upsetting my family. If any of you have the guts . you obviously know who I am and where i live . C ome and face me, and we will sort it out,or shut up. Reply
I agree. A wholesale resignation will trigger an election in which the current councillors may, of course, stand for re-election if they so wish. An election will produce a new Parish Council with a fresh mandate from the village. It will draw a line under the existing issues and restore confidence in the PC by the villagers. Reply