In message , David
Cantrell writes
On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 06:35:31PM +0000, James Farrar wrote:
Joe wrote in :
The panel agreed that Councillor Rosenstiel should send a full personal,
unqualified and unreserved written apology to the East of England
Ambulance Service and the ambulance driver involved in the incident in
June 2007. The form of this apology was agreed with the Hearing Panel.
So in other words, a whole bunch of taxpayers' money has been spent in
order to get an apology.
What's the point of apologising only after being ordered to do so? I
would consider such an apology to be insincere if I received one.
Indeed but what else is there to do or where else is there to go with
this matter?
I think it underlines a very basic flaw in the way in which councillors
are treated. Don't get me wrong, I often hold these people, making
far-reaching decisions about things they have no real knowledge of [1].
However, the way in which they can be held to account **more strictly
than other members of society** does seem to me deeply unfair. If
anyone else undertakes actions they are not subject to anything except
the law of the land and their employers' internal disciplinary
procedures. Councillors, on the other hand, seem to be held to account
by this Orwellian-sounding "Council's Code of Conduct for Councillors".
It strikes me as not being a council's job to hold its own members to
account in this way. Certainly temporarily barring them from meetings,
effectively putting them out of office for a time, seems to me to be
deeply undemocratic. That is the job of the councillor's electors next
time they go to the polls. If they break the law then of course the
*law* should deal with them. But not a council, no.
Good grief; that sounded like me standing up for local councillors! I
think I'll go and lie down for a while. :-)
[1] Once again, I stress I am not referring to Colin here. I know
nothing about his politics or achievements and don't wish to comment on
this particular event.
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK
Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk