Rebel spells out his grievances

REBEL Labour councillor Kevin Bennett has spelled out in detail his differences with the controlling Labour Group on Warrington Borough Council which have led to him being suspended indefinitely from the group.
He claims he has been the victim of bullying, harassment and “distasteful accusations.”
The Fairfield and Howley councillor claims he reported the incidents to party whips but no action was taken and no apologies offered.
Cllr Bennett said: “I was extremely concerned by the contents of the budget as I believed that it was disproportionately weighted towards more prosperous areas of the town.
“The ward I represent is amongst the most deprived in Warrington and has, for a number of years, suffered from a lack of investment and neglect by the previous council administration. I was keen to ensure that any budget which was put forward by this Labour Group did not repeat the mistakes made by the two parties who I worked hard to unseat.
“Since 2010 I have been subject to a number of unpleasant approaches and remarks by members of this Labour Group which have sought to damage my reputation and question credibility.
“I am extremely proud to represent the people of Fairfield and Howley as a Labour/Co-Operative Party councillor and was humbled to secure my re-election last May.
“My fellow ward councillors have made it clear that they have no desire to work with me within the ward and they have made it obvious that they have no wish to be associated with me.
“I have had a number of distasteful accusations levelled at me, including a phone call from a fellow Labour councillor who told me: ‘You are finished in the Labour Group.’
“Last year, I received a number of emails which questioned my integrity and descended to unnecessary and unwarranted insults. I reported these matters to the whips, but no action was taken and I have yet to receive an apology.
‘Prior to this disciplinary procedure, I have been summoned to meetings with the whips on five occasions. The correct procedure has not been followed on any of these five instances where I have, to be frank, been subject to harassment.
“On one occasion, I was summoned to the whips alongside a fellow councillor in Fairfield and Howley to answer what I considered to be a spurious allegation. On that occasion, we were both told that unless one of us admitted to the alleged offense, we would both be disciplined. This is not good practice and I do not consider this to be in the interests of natural justice. It is telling that the group as a whole do not receive proper and appropriate reports from the meetings held by the whips and so these matters have, for a great deal of time, gone unaddressed.
“On another occasion, I was informed by the whips that I should not send emails to the Labour Group en masse. Any emails I have sent were proper and appropriate expressions of opinion and did not conflict with any rule of the Labour Party. Nevertheless, attempts were made to discipline me. I requested on a number of occasions to be told clearly and explicitly what rule I had broken.
“The chief whip declined to provide that information and arbitrarily decided to invite me to meetings to answer allegations about my conduct. On each of these occasions, I had done nothing wrong and there were no legitimate grounds for interviewing me. It is my belief that these meetings, collectively, amount to nothing short of harassment and bullying.
‘Following one meeting that was held with the Labour Group whips, I was informed, at a later date, that it was their intention to ‘remove the whip’ from me. This was deemed to be entirely without grounds and was overturned by the Regional Labour Party. This fact was not, of course, reported back to the Labour Group.
“It has been evident to me, throughout this, that for reasons unknown, I have either been “targeted” by the chief whip or he was following orders from persons unknown to me
“By the evening of the full council budget meeting, when I voted against the cuts, I was at the end of my tether. I continued to feel victimised, and was beginning to believe that there was a clear determination by certain senior members of the Labour Group to ostracise me and exclude me by whatever means possible. I was extremely angry and upset by this.
“Even since the budget meeting, I have been subject to further examples of un-comradely conduct by my fellow councillors. It has been suggested to me that, simply because I have a full-time job, that I should not continue to serve as an elected councillor.
“I intend to appeal against the decision of the Labour Group and hope that justice will prevail.”
Leader of the council Terry O’Neill said: “Our strength lies in unity and taking collective responsibility for the decisions of our administration, key to which is the setting of the council budget. The group has followed due process in arriving at this decision, which has been made in light of the full facts concerning the breaches of Labour Party rules. Cllr Bennett now has a right of appeal as per normal procedures.
“In our budget, we have delivered the best possible outcome for Warrington in dealing with the Government’s savage funding cuts. That is what protects vulnerable people in our town, not abdicating the responsibility placed in us by the electorate. It has been disappointing in recent weeks to read the misinformation from Cllr Bennett about the budget, the possible alternatives and this situation. The Labour Group has acted decisively in moving to bring this matter to a close.”