A councillor has described his suspension as a “farce” and said he should be reinstated.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Dr Tristan Learoyd was suspended in May by the Lib Dem group on Redcar and Cleveland Council for a period of three months after concern was raised over his alleged conduct at meetings and statements he had circulated online.
Group chairman, Councillor Ian Hart said in an e-mail seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the decision was “regrettable and not taken lightly” and it had exhausted all attempts to engage with Cllr Learoyd, who it was claimed had undermined the Lib Dems’ standing locally.
Cllr Learoyd, who represents the St Germain’s ward in Marske, said the group had no grounds to suspend him and the charges he was faced with were not legitimate, with no evidence being presented.
He also pointed out that no council member from any party had ever submitted a code of conduct complaint against him. Fellow Lib Dem Councillor Chris Jones has also called for Cllr Learoyd’s suspension to be lifted and suggested there was no “robust rationale”.
He said: “I am in full support of Tristan.”
Cllr Learoyd said his suspension had prevented him from campaigning on behalf of Cllr Jones, who was the party’s candidate for Redcar in the General Election. Cllr Jones went on to lose his deposit, gaining fewer votes than Reform UK candidate John Davies.
Cllr Learoyd claims Lib Dem Councillor Kendra Evans discussed with council monitoring officer Steve Newton video posts on Cllr Learoyd’s Facebook page with Cllr Evans seeking advice whether there were grounds for complaint over them.
Prior to publication, the LDRS put these claims to Cllr Evans, who said she was not in a position to comment.
Cllr Learoyd claims: “It has emerged that one councillor had an antipathy towards me and gave the Liberal Democrat group an ultimatum. This councillor was later caught red-handed in an exchange regarding a [potential] code of conduct case against me.
“It is in nobody’s interest to continue with this farce.”
Cllr Learoyd, a former planning committee chairman, said he had offered the group the opportunity to move on by reinstating him through mediation in order to resolve any issues. He said he agreed with the Lib Dem manifesto, which was why he was a member of the party, and had no plans to resign.
Cllr Learoyd added: “The way forward is to stop the internal squabbles and personal rivalries, to unite and to make residents’ lives better through positive action. The Liberal Democrats have shown across the country what a united, campaigning party can do.
“It’s time for us to do the same here. Let’s get on with the important work of making the area a better place to live.”
Cllr Hart said the process involving Cllr Learoyd was still ongoing and referred to a previous statement issued by the group.
It said the decision to suspend Cllr Learoyd for a fixed period was to “sort out a number of long-standing issues” and it was an “internal matter which cannot be dealt with in the public arena”.
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