"Nothing personal" in calls for councillors to quit

Gloucestershire pair leave Plymouth Council

A leading Plymouth Labour councillor insists demands for two Tory colleagues  to resign were “never a personal attack.”  

Cllrs Shannon Burden, for Moor View, and Dan Collins, for Plympton Chaddlewood, who both live in Gloucestershire, decided to resign with immediate effect on Wednesday after a motion at full council on Monday argued the couple could no longer serve residents effectively while living over 120 miles away. 

Cllrs Burden and Collins, who are expecting a baby, had already said they planned on stepping down ahead of the local elections in May 2023.

However, this week the couple agreed to resign immediately, saying their “personal circumstances have made it untenable for us to continue as councillors.”

The motion for them to step down, proposed by Cllr Terri Beer, Independent Alliance councillor for Plympton Erle, was passed with most Tory councillors abstaining rather than voting against the move.  

Former Cllr Shannon Burden is expecting a baby (image courtesy: Shannon Burden)

Cllr Jemima Laing, deputy leader of Plymouth Labour and councillor for Stoke supported calls for the couple’s resignation but on Thursday said it was nothing personal.

She said: ”This was never a personal attack on either councillor – I wish them both happiness in their life together – it was about the precedent they had been setting for nearly 18 months: that it’s acceptable to collect a councillor allowance for serving a ward you live 130 miles away from.

“I have consistently argued in council for many months that standing for election and then leaving the area in pretty short order breaches a few of the Nolan Principles those in public life are expected to abide by. It’s also important to remember that they were fully supported in their actions at every stage by the Conservative leader of the council.

“It’s a shame it’s taken questions in this council and articles in the press to make them eventually be dragged to do the right thing but I very much welcome the news they have finally considered their position and stood down. This will now give the people of Moor View and Chaddlewood wards the chance to elect people who want and are able to be involved and present for those communities rather than trying to serve them from afar.”  

After a number of recent resignations and suspensions the latest move weakens the Conservative group on Plymouth City Council further.

The Tories now have 25 of the 57 councillors and Labour have 24.  There are three members of the Independent Alliance, two Green Party councillors, one Independent and two vacant seats.