A tense meeting to decide the leadership of North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative group was abruptly halted following a dispute over whether aligned independent councillors are eligible to vote.
A “tense and chaotic” meeting to decide the leadership of North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative group was halted amid a disagreement among councillors on who was eligible to vote.
Tory councillors who serve on the authority were due to vote on the next leader and deputy leader at the group’s annual general meeting today.
An election was needed after former executive committee member Keane Duncan announced that he had been nominated by colleagues for the leadership role, which is currently held by long-serving councillor, Carl Les.
A vote was also planned at the AGM to decide the deputy leader after Councillor Gareth Dadd announced he would be standing down.
But the meeting was deferred until July for further discussions on whether independent councillors who are aligned with the Conservative councillors should have a say.
It is understood Conservative Party rules currently ban non-Tories from voting on leadership issues.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the meeting was “tense and chaotic” at times with some councillors visibly upset during the debate.
Cllr Les told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
“It became apparent that our constitution and rules have not kept up with the present circumstance where there are more than just Conservative Party members as part of the group.
“There is a question about whether they are entitled to a vote or not.
“We need to clarify that and so we are setting up a working party to review the constitution and the rules.”
Cllr Duncan declined to comment on the meeting.
While Cllr Les and Cllr Duncan were the only nominees for the leadership role, three councillors, Mark Crane, Richard Foster and George Jabbour, were nominated for the deputy role.
The Conservatives on the council are currently able to maintain control thanks to the support of three independent councillors.
The leader of the Conservative and Independent group on the authority will not automatically become leader of the council
But it is likely a new group leader would also go on to lead the council following a vote at the next full council meeting.
If Cllr Les were to win the vote next week, he would automatically continue as leader.
Cllr Duncan, who represents the Norton division, became the youngest council leader in the country when he took up the top role at Ryedale District Council in 2019 aged 24.
The councillor, who is now 31, was elected to the new unitary North Yorkshire Council in 2022 and then stood for election to be the first mayor of York and North Yorkshire in 2024, coming second behind Labour candidate David Skaith.
He was an executive member for highways on North Yorkshire Council until he was removed by Cllr Les in June last year.
It is understood the relationship between the two councillors has been strained since the reshuffle.
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