Just 1 of 5 Somerset Councils Confirms All Councillors Paid Their Council Tax - the rest are in shame...

Standing Up For Residents

Last year, we published our investigation into all Somerset district and county councillors and exposed those councillors that were outed by their own councils.

Somerset Independents should not have had to do this investigation, as it should be normal that ALL councillors pay their council tax. This is what residents expect and councillors make decisions that impact hundreds of thousands of people in Somerset. It is also the law that councillors cannot vote on the council budget if they are in arrears.

Us volunteers at Somerset Independents should also not have to investigate, as surely the local media should be investigating. But none of the below do much investigating of Somerset's councils.

• BBC Bristol a.k.a. BBC West
  
• SomersetLive/Reach, including the "Local Democracy Reporter" Daniel Mumby who is attached to Reach at SomersetLive but gets funded by the BBC
• (Somerset) County Gazette
  

However as reported on this website, and in national and local investigative organs Private Eye and The Leveller, Somerset Independents discovered that councillors were persistently in arrears:

• in the east of Somerset at Mendip District Council (MDC) and South Somerset District Council (SSDC), and 
• in the west of Somerset at Somerset West and Taunton (SWT) AND on Somerset County Council (SCC) too.

The County Council did not want to know if any of its councillors were in arrears. When we enquired, they palmed off responsibility for checking onto the districts and expected councillors to be honest to declare any arrears when at Somerset County Council.

We've discovered and reported that County Councillors are NOT NECESSARILY honest, as shown in our reports on former Tory Councillor Neil Bloomfield, who is also a SSDC councillor for Martock.

Council Tax Recalcitrant
Councillor Neil Bloomfield

So what about Sedgemoor's councillors?

In the financial year ending in 2021, our investigations showed that over the two years, only one of the five district and county councils in Somerset had no councillors in arrears TWO YEARS IN A ROW.

That was Sedgemoor District Council.

We asked them the same questions as last year, again this year.

And again, they've told us that no councillors on Sedgemoor District Council were in arrears.

We won't be congratulating them, as this is how things should be.

Andrew Pope, Leader of Somerset Independents and leader of the investigation, says:

Andrew Pope

 

"Other Somerset councils and other councils nearby have been asked the same questions that we asked them last year.

And shockingly, we have discovered more councillors who have been persistently in arrears, and more councils who are prepared to try to cover up and protect their councillors instead of answering our questions.

We will be reporting more very soon, particularly on those councillors who might think it is OK for them to stand again in the elections in May."

Why We're Boycotting This Illegitimate Somerset Council and Their Repeating Existing Failures

Standing Up For Residents

Below are two statements from Denise Wyatt as Nominations Officer and by Andrew Pope as Leader of Somerset Independents, in relation to the new Somerset Council that has now been signed into law by the Conservative Government - despite the disagreement of the majority of Somerset residents.

 

Denise Wyatt

Denise Wyatt, Nominations Officer for Somerset Independents, says:

"This illegitimate Somerset Council, which was voted against by the majority of Somerset residents in the Referendum in 2007, has now been created by the Conservative Government - regardless of the views of residents. Therefore residents feel that it is illegitimate and an affront to democracy.

All district councils and the county council will be scrapped and replaced by this Somerset Council, which doesn't cover the entire County anyway. It is estimated to cost £17 million.

As this new Council is illegitimate, Somerset Independents will not be standing any Somerset Independents candidates.

The Westminster parties will mess this new council up, like they have already with the current councils.

It's another case of Lib Dem, Green, Labour or Tory, same old story."

 

Andrew Pope

Leader of Somerset Independents, Andrew Pope, says:

"Somerset Independents campaigned for a proper Referendum where the residents got to decide whether any changes occurred, because residents said a firm NO in 2007.

We were the leaders of the campaign for a proper YES/NO Referendum to any changes, and we are still campaigning for any future council to be a Modern Committee System.

But the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour and Greens were not listening. They were weak and undemocratic.

In 2007, the district councils organised a proper Referendum. This time it was a weak alternative that did not allow residents to stop these changes - only to make a Hobson's choice between two buckets of manure, as myself and Denise Wyatt told the districts when we spoke at their meetings and as reported on BBC Radio Somerset by Paul Barltrop.

It is too little too late.

This disaster is estimated to cost residents £17 million of taxpayers money, but it will likely cost more.

The new Council will inherit many of the bad councillors, bad officers, bad decisions and bad debts of the district councils and county councils. It's the same people but in a new organisation. You only have to look at the other recent unwanted reorganisation in Somerset that created Somerset West and Taunton Council. That cost more than estimated too and is itself going to be scrapped.

The parish and town councils are sleepwalking into a disaster where residents will be charged more in their council tax, but won't have proper governance - and as Somerset Independents has repeatedly shown in our investigations, the existing councils are lacking due governance and accountability for their bad decisions and wasting of taxpayers money on the wrong priorities.

The Conservative Leader of the County Council, David Fothergill, has been pushing this illegitimate Somerset Council through and hoodwinking parish and town councils with false promises and weasel words.

These changes were never asked for by residents, but the Westminster parties will be making Somerset residents suffer again.

This illegitimate Somerset Council will repeat the same failures, all over again, and the people of Somerset will pay."

ANOTHER Crewkerne Lib Dem Councillor in Council Tax Arrears! Robin Pailthorpe

Lib Dem Councillor Robin Pailthorpe

Residents of Crewkerne must be wondering what they have done to deserve not one, but two councillors who have persistently failed to pay their own council tax.

We have reported on Lib Dem Councillor Ben Hodgson, but Councillor Robin Pailthorpe has also failed to represent Crewkerne properly.

As we have previously reported, a group of residents has contacted Somerset Independents to raise their anger about Cllr Pailthorpe and Cllr Hodgson.

These residents of Crewkerne were angry about Councillor Pailthorpe, after they had read our articles and the report on our work in local newspaper "The Leveller".

The spreadsheet response to our questions from South Somerset District Council to Somerset Independents' investigation stated that Councillor Pailthorpe's record on failing to pay council tax was as follows in 2020 and 2021:

Oct-20 - Two outstanding liability orders for 2018 and 2019 can not vote unless pays £878.64 in full before budget setting meeting. If not paid by then will attach to allowances.
08/12/2020 - No payments this financial year, Liability order for 18/19 remains unpaid and £260.62 in arrears so far for 2020
22/01/2021 - Two outstanding liability orders for 2018 and 2019 totalling £878.64.  No payments received this financial year and in arrears for this year by £520.62
29/04/2021 - Vacated this address with outstanding balance of £1328.66, £470.62 of which is in arrears and subject to a liablility order.  Full balance due 10th May.  Not liable at forwarding address.

Somerset Independents has offered Councillor Pailthorpe several opportunities of a right of reply to the questions below. Councillor Pailthorpe has not answered any of them. 

"1. Would you like to give the public an explanation as to why you did not pay your council tax for two months or more?

2. How much did you owe South Somerset District Council at the time of the February 2021 Budget Full Council meeting?

3. How much do you owe now, and for how long have you not been paying council tax?

4. When will you be paying up, in full?

5. Have you voted on council tax and related matters when in arrears, in this year or previous years?

6. Would you like to let everyone know whether you will be paying your council tax in the future?

7. Or will you be resigning your seat, which would seem reasonable? We ask you to consider resigning your seat.

8. What role, if any, did you or any other councillor or officer of SSDC play in keeping your identity secret for several months, before SSDC named you as a non-payer? Please provide full details of any interventions, despite Jill Byron ruling that your identity be revealed."

 

Leader of Somerset Independents, Andrew Pope, says:

Andrew Pope

"Councillor Pailthorpe could try to explain, but he has not.

He could apologise to residents, but he has not.

He could resign, but he has not.

Councillor Pailthorpe has continued to receive councillor's allowance, at taxpayers' expense.

Robin has been robbing from the taxpayer. And the Liberal Democrats have done nothing to remove him or Councillor Hodgson.

I understand from the group of residents that they are discussing what action they are going to take next. We will be supporting them."

Somerset Independents has asked the other Crewkerne Lib Dem councillor - there are three - what he thinks of his Lib Dem colleagues' refusal to best. His name is Councillor Mike Best.

Lib Dem Crewkerne Councillor Mike Best

We have also informed the Lib Dem Leader of the Council, Councillor Val Keitch, who was named in the scandal surrounding the dismissal of senior Council officer Clare Pestell. The scandal has been reported widely, following the investigations done by The Leveller newspaper.

Liberal Democrats Gambling Millions of Taxpayers Money

And we have informed the Leaders of the "opposition" groups - Independent Group Councillor Dave Bulmer, and the Conservative Group Councillor Martin Wale.

We have told these "opposition" councillors that they need to take action over Conservative, former Conservative and current Liberal Democrat councillors who were persistently in arrears - Councillors Osborne, Clarke, Hodgson, Bloomfield and Pailthorpe.

But we are sceptical that they will do so, because these councillors have provided little scrutiny or action on the wrongdoing at scandal-rocked SSDC. 

If they had done their jobs as opposition councillors, then SSDC might not be hit with scandal after scandal relating to Leaders of the Council and senior officers:

• Ric Pallister (jailed)
• Clare Pestell (dismissed)
• Alex Parmley (resigned)
• Val Keitch (still in post)
  

We understand that the previous Leader of the Conservatives, Linda Vijeh, resigned suddenly during the revelations regarding Clare Pestell, Alex Parmley and Val Keitch. Whether there is any link, may become clear over time.

Somerset Independents will continue to stand up for residents. We have more to reveal, when we are ready to do so.

Standing Up For Residents