SomersetClive is delighted to announce that Councillor Fencesitter has agreed to join our team as a columnist and will be contributing a series of articles which will explain politics to all.
Part One – ‘Conflict of Interest‘
If a Town Council meeting has an item on the meeting agenda to which a Town Councillor has links, that Councillor must declare an interest and leave the room, whilst the other Councillors debate the issue.
For example, a planning application to build industrial units down the road from another member’s own industrial estate should see that Councillor leave the room and not contribute to the debate.
Similarly, a Councillor should not comment on applications for grant-funding for that Councillor’s close-friend.
Councillors should not be swayed by the interests of family or friends. We are there to decide on the matters before us on an unbiased basis. Just because a bosom-buddy objects to a proposal we shouldn’t reject it out of hand, but should consider it on its merits and how it could benefit the town as a whole.
However, there is always a grey area when it comes to social contacts. The rule of thumb I use is “is this a person I would invite to my birthday party or a family wedding?”. On that basis, my wife declared an interest at a recent planning meeting.
I can’t speak for how other Councillors interpret social interests, but it certainly seems that some of them don’t consider sleeping with an applicant or objector to necessarily be a bar to directing the other members of the Council which way to vote.