EXPOSED: We Reveal How Former Tory Councillor Neil Bloomfield Broke The Law and Voted on Your Council Spending Despite Being Banned

 

Martock "Independent" Councillor Neil Bloomfield

UPDATE (6/5/22): Neil Bloomfield LOST his attempt to be elected to the New Somerset Council.

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In March, Leader of Somerset Independents Andrew Pope followed up on our previous investigations into councillors who persistently failed to pay their council tax. 

Neil Bloomfield is a Martock councillor and represents the area on South Somerset District Council AND Somerset County Council. He claims to be "independent" but is actually a former Conservative. 

To this day (2 days before the elections in which he is standing), including on his election literature and social media, Bloomfield promotes himself as "independent" but usually votes with the Tories on the councils.

So we believe that Neil Bloomfield is a Tory sheep in independent clothing. It would be interesting to know how many voters are aware of this.

Our investigations showed that Neil Bloomfield had persistently and knowingly failed to pay his council tax over months and years.

Councillor Bloomfield has not answered our questions.

He has not resigned either.

So, in March, we challenged Somerset County Council officers as to why they did not bother to check whether councillors had paid their council tax.

As we have previously shown, councillors who persistently fail to pay are DISBARRED (LEGALLY BANNED) from voting on council tax-related matters.

This is the legal opinion that we have showed to all four district councils and Somerset County Council.

Yet Somerset County Council failed to check.

And Cllr Bloomfield voted to spend YOUR money at the County Council.

He also failed to declare his arrears at the required time at the Budget Meeting of the County Council, despite clearly being told by Somerset County Council officers that he must declare his arrears.

So according to the legal advice that we have, Cllr Neil Bloomfield broke the law repeatedly.

We asked Somerset County Council to report Cllr Bloomfield to Avon and Somerset Police.

To our knowledge, Somerset County Council have failed to do so.

Voters go to the polls this Thursday.

If Councillor Neil Bloomfield is elected, he will be elected as a councillor who has committed offences and who has broken the law. 

And Somerset County Council will have failed to act, despite being made aware by us and being asked by us to review its decisions and despite the evidence being in the minutes of Somerset County Council meetings - here is the link to the Minutes - it is also copied below*.

It is not easy to see on the County Council website's version of the Minutes that Bloomfield voted - whether this is a deliberate attempt to cover it up or not we leave you to decide.

Here it is though, we've recovered it:

Somerset County Council officers have also tried to equivocate instead of answering our questions. The facts are shown in their own Minutes, and we copy them here. We are considering whether to take the matter further.

We repeat our call for all candidates for elected office to be subject to criminal records checks before becoming a candidate and also when in service to residents as a councillor or MP or Police and Crime Commissioner.

Trust is at historic lows in elected politicians.

People like Neil Bloomfield are doing little to enhance trust.

* From the official Minutes of the Somerset County Council meeting in February 2021 (emphasis added)

"Agenda item

Declarations of Interest

• Meeting of ANNUAL BUDGET MEETING, County Council, Wednesday 17th February 2021 10.00 am (Item 245.)

Details of all Members’ interests in District, Town and Parish Councils can be viewed on the Council Website at

County Councillors membership of Town, City, Parish or District Councils and this will be displayed in the meeting room (Where relevant).

The Statutory Register of Member’s Interests can be inspected via request to the Democratic Service Team.

 

Minutes:

The Chair reminded the meeting that details of all Members’ interests in District, Town and Parish Councils could be viewed on the Council’s Website and there is no need for members to individually declare these personal interests in those other councils at the meeting.

 

Members were reminded that the Monitoring Officer had granted a dispensation to enable all elected members to participate and vote on setting the Revenue Budget, Council Tax levels and the Members Allowance Scheme.  Any member who had an amount of Council Tax due to be paid which had been unpaid for at least two months needed to declare that as they could not take part in the vote relating to the Budget."