Sunday, July 18, 2021

Andy Burton Rutland Conservative Candidate Former East Yorkshire councillors won deselection appeal. East Riding of Yorkshire Council

People have asked what happened in East Riding Council where Andy Burton was a member?


Cllr Andy Burton with other councillors and the leader, were accused by East Riding Conservative Councillor of bringing he Tory Party into disrepute.

East Riding Council's Tory cabinet voted to make the discretionary payment of £360,000 into director of corporate resources Sue Lockwood's pension fund at a behind-closed-doors meeting in Beverley.

The same cabinet also agreed back dated 21% pay rises to other senior council officers. 

These decisions understandable caused a public outcry.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council leader Stephen Parnaby and 10 Tory councillors who were not put on the approval shortlist by their Conservative constituency associations.

Fortunately Andy Burton and 6 others won there appeal, so he was able to carry on with his political career.

At the time Andrew Allison, of the Hull and East Riding branch of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "I would challenge them to go out on the doorstep and speak to the ratepayers and justify the decision they have made. It's the elections next year and some might find it difficult to get themselves re-elected."

Conservative parliamentary candidate for West Hull and Hessle Gary Shores, who is also an East Riding councillor, said: "I think it is a deplorable waste of money. The public are being asked to tighten their belts and at County Hall they are having to keep an eye on every penny they spend.

"It was only the other year they that they were given a pay rise because they were deemed indispensable and now she's being pensioned off early," he said. "This is a disgrace, a waste of public money.

"If she wants to retire early we shouldn't have to foot the bill."

In just eight months last of 2009 the council spent more than 1.1m on 19 early retirements.