Teignbridge Lib Dems go to war

Councillor who quit group tells leader to resign

Teignbridge District Council’s leader is facing a call to resign following a row which has seen a member of the ruling Lib Dem group temporarily suspended from the national party.

Councillor Alan Connett has allowed one of his top Liberal Democrat team, Councillor Gary Taylor, to keep his job in charge of planning despite a “physical confrontation” with an opposition member at a council meeting.

Mr Taylor later apologised but now Councillor Alison Eden, a former member of the ruling Lib Dems who currently sits on the seperate ‘Liberal Democrat Independent Group’, says the leader’s position is “untenable” because of his “failure to condemn violence” in his team.

The issue began in September at a chaotic full council meeting and has since led to a vote of no confidence in Cllr Connett, which he comfortably survived.

During a question on planning, opposition member Liam Mullone (Newton Says No, College ward) left his seat and began shouting – which he later said was due to his microphone being switched off – then made his way towards the front of the room and stood still.

Executive member for planning Cllr Taylor then got out of his seat and approached Mr Mullone, appearing to grab him and try to pull him away by his jacket before the pair were broken up.

The row was quickly defused, but it did force the meeting to stop and later for Mr Taylor’s membership of the Lib Dems to be temporarily suspended as the party looks into the incident.

However, despite the suspension, Cllr Taylor has kept his paid role as executive member in charge of planning at the request of leader Cllr Connett.

An email from Mr Connett to Teignbridge’s Lib Dem councillors following the national party’s decision in October, subsequently leaked to the press said: “I have spoken with Gary this evening and assured him of my continued support.

“I also asked him to continue serving on the executive with responsibility for planning, which I am pleased to say he has agreed to do.

He added: “As there is now a complaint to the party, it is important that we are all mindful of what we say and to who.”

The council leader defended Cllr Taylor’s actions shortly after the incident took place, for which he criticised the “aggressive and thuggish behaviour of Liam Mullone”.

In a statement sent to Devon Live, he added: “Cllr Gary Taylor, a 67-year-old pensioner, had the presence of mind to step in, in an attempt to calm the situation and divert Mr Mullone from continuing his rampaging behaviour.”

Speaking to BBC Radio Devon recently, Cllr Mullone said Cllr Taylor “grabbed me by the lapels and I heard my jacket tear. He was trying to pull me out of the room …. eventually I broke away from him and I continued until I got to the end of my bit of paper.”

Last week, Cllr Taylor apologised at the first full council meeting since the altercation happened, stating: “You have my word that I will not act in this manner again in the future.”

“Whilst my actions were intended to prevent an escalation of an ongoing situation, I recognise that in the field of politics, there is no place for physical confrontation, however well-intentioned or otherwise,” he added.

The heated meeting also saw the motion of no confidence in Cllr Connett over his handling of the incident defeated. Former Lib Dem executive member Andrew MacGregor accused the leader of “poor leadership, poor conflict management, dreadful bias and very poor judgment.”

Councillors Mullone and Taylor got into a bit of a spat (courtesy: Teignbridge Council)

Cllr MacGregor, who recently left the ruling group and now sits on the Liberal Democrat Independent Group added: “This motion is not about personalities or a vendetta.

“What a shame Cllr Connett did not exercise leadership skills and swiftly organise an unreserved apology and condemnation of acts of physical violence in the chamber at the first opportunity.”

Responding at the meeting, Cllr Connett said in a personal statement: “As individual councillors, we are each responsible for our own actions and behaviour.

“I welcome Cllr Taylor’s apology to the council earlier in this meeting. I too have apologised to the council after a councillor felt a comment I had made was not appropriate.”

Councillor Alison Eden, who backed the no confidence motion, is also a former member of the ruling group but left over a separate issue and is now part of the independent Lib Dems with Cllr MacGregor.

She said: “I do think [Cllr Connett’s] position is untenable because of his failure to condemn violence.”

“I am very sad about all this because I feel like Cllr Connett has created a problem where there wasn’t one. As leader, he could have demonstrated how wrong those actions were very quickly after the event and not tried to spin them.

“I would find it very difficult to trust him. I would need to believe that he really regretted the message he sent out.”

In a statement, Cllr Connett said in response: “Teignbridge Council is focused on several key projects – we’ve built the first council houses in around 30 years and have plans for more. We’re also updating our leisure buildings and the council offices to cut the carbon output, and we’re working to protect and create jobs.

“Cllr Eden left the Liberal Democrat Group on Teignbridge having been found to have breached the code of conduct for councillors by the council’s standards committee because of her behaviour.

“As has also been reported, there are currently complaints about Cllr Eden before the Liberal Democrats standards process and also by Cllr Eden against me.

“It is inappropriate to comment on these matters while the process is underway, in line with the rules of the standards process.

“I stand by my comments regarding Cllr Mullone’s behaviour at the council meeting on 20 September. Unlike Cllr Mullone, Cllr Taylor has apologised in public to the council.

“The no confidence motion was roundly defeated by the vast majority of councillors including the Conservatives, Independents and Liberal Democrats.

“We all want to get on with providing homes for those that need them, supporting our local economy and continuing to tackle climate change.”

Angry at Cllr Connett’s suggestion otherwise, Cllr Eden told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it was her decision to leave the ruling group.