EXPOSED: More South Somerset District (and North Somerset) councillors ... who persistently failed to pay council tax!

 

Somerset Independents is continuing its investigations into councillors who persistently failed to pay their own council tax but continued to be elected officials, without resigning.

Shamefully (as one Crewkerne resident told us), some have continued to remain councillors and to make important decisions affecting thousands of Somerset resident's lives whilst being in persistent arrears on their council tax.

And two have been shown by our investigations to have voted on budget items at the Budget Full Council of Somerset County Council and Mendip District Council, despite their persistent council tax arrears. These councillors also failed to declare their arrears properly, despite being required to do so and being told by council officers to do so.

We have continued to repeatedly offer the Right of Reply to all of them. But they don't want to answer the questions that the public want answered.

We have more information on councillors at South Somerset District Council and now new information on North Somerset Council.

South Somerset District Council have provided the following information:

Fake "Independent" Councillor for Martock and
Former Tory Neil Bloomfield

"Cllr Neil Bloomfield – four months in arrears which amounts to £407.23. Cllr Bloomfield did not attend the budget setting meeting of the 28^th February."

and

"Cllr Robin Pailthorpe – arrears of £878.64 for 2018 and 2019 council tax years and an outstanding balance of £450.02 for 2020.  Cllr Pailthorpe did not attend the budget setting meeting of the 28^th February."

Lib Dem Councillor for Crewkerne Robin Pailthorpe

So there are persistent failures from these two councillors.

We have also received other information from residents of Crewkerne in relation to Councillor Pailthorpe and the other councillor for Crewkerne Ben Hodgson, who was also in arrears on his council tax, as we exclusively revealed from the investigations.

Bloomfield, Pailthorpe and Hodgson are councillors on a district council that will be scrapped in a year's time and replaced with a unitary authority for "all of" (more accurately most of) the traditional County of Somerset.

All district councils and the County Council will be scrapped in favour of the New Somerset Council. This is something that the Conservative Government has forced through, against the wishes of the majority of Somerset residents - as we have documented and campaigned for a Referendum.

Neither Cllr Pailthorpe nor Bloomfield have been elected to the New Somerset Council. Residents of Martock and Crewkerne will be relieved.

But they are also worried that this district council continues and the continuing involvement of these councillors, plus other SSDC councillors like Conservative Sue Osborne and Lib Dem Louise Clarke.

Lib Dem Cllr for Crewkerne Ben Hodgson

Lib Dem Cllr for Martock Louise Clarke

Conservative Councillor for Windwhistle Sue Osborne

Cllr Sue Osborne HAS been elected to the New Somerset Council.

To our knowledge, none other of the non-council-tax-paying councillors that Somerset Independents has exposed in our investigations have been elected to the new council. 

They either resigned before the elections, did not stand in the elections or lost to other candidates.

Residents will be relieved.

But Osborne has been elected.

We are concerned because residents will be.

So we've asked Conservative councillors on SSDC what they think of this, and Cllr Osbourne's arrears too.

We've given Cllr Osborne and other councillors the opportunity of the Right of Reply - again.

But there has still been no response from Cllr Osborne or from Cllr Pailthorpe, Cllr Clarke or Cllr Hodgson.

The Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Martin Wale, told us:

"I had correspondence from Cllr Osborne and I am satisfied that this matter has been resolved with SSDC."

That is not the way that residents see things.

Residents have told us again this week that they think it is shameful and that they are concerned about these councillors.

Only one of the recalcitrant councillors has responded to our questions - Cllr Neil Bloomfield - but he has not answered our questions properly. He also used a private email instead of his councillor email and made a set of unsubstantiated allegations. We have given him another chance.

North Somerset Council 

Meanwhile, in another part of the traditional County of Somerset, now we know that councillors at North Somerset Council have been subject to liability orders, reminders and summons.

This follows further investigations led by Leader of Somerset Independents, Andrew Pope.

There are two independent councillors and one Conservative councillor.

We will be providing the names plus more details and asking media outlets to report.