The leader and deputy leader of Ripon City Council have resigned their positions amid a challenge to their authority from fellow councillors.
The decision by Councillor Andrew Williams and Councillor Peter Horton to stand down as leader and deputy leader, respectively, came after six councillors backed a plan to run the authority without the two positions.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that the councillors were unhappy with Cllr Williams’ leadership and felt he was taking decisions without the involvement of all members.
A motion to change the rules to remove the two positions was due to be debated at a full council meeting on Monday, although councillors were told by officers it would need to be discussed at an extraordinary meeting called by the mayor.
It later emerged that Cllr Williams and Cllr Horton had resigned prior to the meeting.
Cllr Williams, who sits as an independent on the city council but is also a Conservative councillor on North Yorkshire Council, said he had taken the decision on medical advice after recent surgery.
He claimed it was a “coincidence” that he had resigned ahead of the discussion on the positions.
He added:
“I advised colleagues at the meeting on July 28 that I would be taking a step back to a certain time due to ill health.
“Because my health isn’t improving, I’m reducing substantially what I’m doing.
“And as I’m a single parent, I have to put the interests of my daughter first.”
Cllr Williams confirmed that Cllr Horton had also stood down, adding: “He didn’t wish to serve anybody else as deputy.”
The rule change was proposed by Councillor Pauline McHardy.
She said the roles were introduced during the covid pandemic to ensure the authority could effectively respond to the crisis.
She said after the meeting:
“It’s not necessary for Ripon City Council to have a leader and a deputy leader. We are 12 councillors. We are not really a big council. To have a leader and a deputy seems ridiculous.
“I personally cannot see anything that we’ve gained through having a leader.”
Councillor Barbara Brodigan, who is a Liberal Democrat on North Yorkshire Council as well as a member of Ripon City Council, added:
“The National Association of Local Councils actually specifically states in their Good Councillor’s Guide that they do not recommend that parish councils have a leader because it can cause division, rather than unite.”
“I do believe, as do the other councillors, that is exactly what has happened on Ripon City Council.”
She said that as leader, Cllr Williams was not given the responsibility to make all the decisions for the council.
She added:
“Maybe he thought that that position gave him that responsibility, but the upshot has been that decisions have been made that have not come to full council.
“I don’t think that the system we’ve had had been democratic.”
It is understood that councillors will continue to press for an extraordinary meeting to permanently remove the role of leader and deputy leader.
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