'Pack your bags and go home': Council chairman says as meeting descends into chaos before being abandoned
A Newark and Sherwood District Council meeting in Nottinghamshire had to be stopped early and was labelled a ‘complete fiasco’ by the chair
A council meeting had to be stopped early and was labelled a ‘complete fiasco’ by the chairman, who told councillors to pack their bags and go home.
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In footage shared with LBC, Councillor Simon Forde appears to tell another councillor to “p**s off” and then accuses the councillor of “f****ing stirring it” a short time before the meeting began.
The meeting of the council in Nottinghamshire descended into chaos and was ultimately abandoned.
The Chairman of Newark and District Council, Councillor David Moore, had to bring the meeting to a close as shouting erupted in the chamber.
He told the meeting: "After advice from our monitoring officer, this obviously has turned into a complete fiasco, not helped by everybody bringing up personal details irrelevant to the matter in hand.”
He added: "I don’t see how we can recover from all this unpleasantness.
"I would ask you all to remember that you are professional councillors and take out this personal slagging off that you’re so good at because it’s irrelevant.
“So we’re going to adjourn, so thank you for your attendance, good night, sweet dreams."
A majority then passed an amendment to adjourn proceedings, and the meeting was halted.
Independent Councillor Johnno Lee, who represents Balderton North & Coddington on Newark and Sherwood District Council, told LBC: “During the meeting, Cllr Hall repeatedly alleged that I had threatened to kill her.
"This has already been independently investigated by Newark and Sherwood District Council.
"The complaint was not upheld, and I was found not to have breached the Code of Conduct.”
He went on to say that Simon Forde, another councillor, got involved and “became extremely aggressive towards a female Conservative councillor.
His manner and actions caused me to believe there was a genuine risk that the confrontation could become physical.”
Cllr Lee added: “Council meetings can involve robust and passionate debate, but false allegations, intimidation and aggressive confrontations have no place in local government.
"Every elected member, regardless of political affiliation, should be able to carry out their duties without fearing abuse or threatening behaviour.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Newark and Sherwood District Council said: "This evening’s Full Council meeting was adjourned following a breakdown in proceedings.
"We are disappointed that the meeting ended in the way it did. We recognise the importance of respectful debate and appropriate conduct at public meetings.
"Unfortunately, this was not maintained during the meeting, and it was agreed that proceedings should be adjourned and reconvened at a later date.
"The Council remains committed to high standards of conduct, transparency and democratic accountability, and to ensure meetings are held respectfully and in line with agreed procedures.
"We will be assessing what happened during the debate and review the next procedural steps, and where no decisions were taken on remaining items, these will be considered when the meeting is reconvened."
Neither Councillor Jean Hall, nor Councillor Simon Forde who both represent Balderton South responded to a request for comment when approached by LBC.