Whitby Residents to be Asked if Town Councillors Should Resign “En-Masse”

Whitby residents are set to vote in a controversial poll that could see all the members of its town council pressured to resign.

A controversial public poll on whether the elected members of Whitby Town Council should resign “en-masse” is set to take place on Friday, October 6.

The call for councillors to resign is one of three issues that the public can vote on in the non-binding poll.

The motion was given the green light at a town assembly meeting on Monday, September 4 when eleven residents and councillors backed the proposal.

The motion, put forward by Town Councillors Rob Barnett and Alf Abbott, asks:

“Should the present members of Whitby Town Council resign en-masse to facilitate the democratic election, by ballot of a fully mandated representative Town Council for Whitby?”

A town council election was held 16 months ago in May 2022. On that occasion the number of people who put themselves forward for election was less than the number of seats available on the town council. This meant that an actual poll was not required and all the candidates were elected uncontested for a five year term.

At the town assembly on September 4th the Mayor asked those moving the motion what they thought would be different about holding elections now compared with the uncontested ones held 2 years ago.

One supporter of the motion spoke about how he believed the situation had changed due to local Government Reorganisation and how he wanted a strong council. He also spoke about the issues facing the town such as the closing of Eskdale school.

The Mayor asked for those in attendance and entitled to vote to make it known if they supported the motion. 11 electors announced their support, surpassing the requirement of 10 electors in order to hold the poll.

However, other councillors have objected to the poll with an extraordinary meeting of Whitby Town Council taking place tonight to debate a motion that “condemns” members of the authority who

“seek to disrupt the ordinary business of the council with pointless and irrelevant motions, or in calling for town assembly meetings and for town polls for trivial reasons”.

The latter motion, proposed by Councillor Noreen Wilson also states that

“every pointless meeting or childish request detracts from true engagement and proper decision making”.

It adds:

“If certain members of this council are not prepared to honour this principle and apply themselves to effective, co-operative working in the best interests of the people of Whitby, it is they who should resign and clear the way for those who do.”

Councillor Asa Jones told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he spoke against the resignation motion when it was proposed earlier this month

“on the basis that the holding of a poll and seven by-elections would be extremely costly and that there will be no guarantee that enough people will want to stand to allow us to have genuinely competitive elections”.

Coun Jones added that if residents voted in favour of the poll then he

“would resign as a councillor to stand in a by-election for the White Leys Ward, where I live, and would seek the nomination of the local Social Justice Party to be their candidate”.

Since calling for the poll on September 4th both Councillor Abbott and Councillor Barnett have attended a full council meeting. Despite suggesting that all councillors should resign neither offered to resign themselves at the meeting. Neither councillor has responded to our request for an interview.

The Local Government Act 1972 makes provision for electors of a Parish to convene a meeting to discuss parish affairs. Furthermore, the Act also includes a provision whereby, provided the Parish Meeting has been properly constituted, any ten electors or a third of the electors present – whichever number is the less – may call for a poll to be held on a question.

The question is put forward at the meeting by a proposer, and the wording of the question is then resolved upon by the Parish Meeting. The question must be something that can be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The question must be clear, unambiguous, and not lend itself to vague or double-negative answers.

One question was agreed at the Parish Assembly on September 4th, a further two questions were agreed at a second Town Assembly on September 18th. They will now go to a public ballot on Friday October 6th from 4pm to 9pm.

The count of the votes will follow the close of polling and the result will be publicised.

The outcome of the poll is no more and no less than an expression of the views of the electorate of the parish who have voted in the poll and is not binding on any organisation.

The official parish poll notice states that the questions will be:

• Should the present members of Whitby Town Council resign en masse to facilitate the democratic election, by ballot, of a fully mandated representative town council for Whitby?
• Should Whitby Town Council petition the Department for Levelling Up, Homes & Communities (DLUHC) to halt and re-examine, the Whitby Town Deal Board project to regenerate the Market Place and to restrict the project to the renovation of the Old Town Hall?
• Should Whitby Town Council petition the Department for Levelling Up, Homes & Communities (DLUHC) to halt and re-examine, in consultation with Whitby residents, the Whitby Town Deal Board project to build a Maritime Training Hub on Endeavour Wharf?

North Yorkshire Council is responsible for administering the poll it has issued information about the process, it says:

• The poll obviously costs money to hold: in staff time, the hire of polling stations, the printing of ballot papers, etc. This is recharged to the Parish Council, under Section 150 (2 and 7) of the Local Government Act 1972.
• In accordance with the Parish and Community Meetings (Polls) Rules 1987 the polling hours for a Parish Poll are from 4 pm. until 9 pm.
•  In accordance with the Parish and Community Meetings (Polls) Rules 1987, there is no provision for a poll card to be sent to electors.
• In accordance with the Parish and Community Meetings (Polls) Rules 1987, there is no provisions for voting by post or by proxy, so to vote, everyone must go to a polling station to have their say.

Here is the official notice of the poll along with details about polling stations.