Letter to the Leader of Tendring District Council:
Dear Neil,
I am writing on behalf of the Labour group following Cllr. Turner’s statement made to the meeting of Tendring District Council yesterday evening.
As Cllr. Turner read his statement to the meeting it had clearly been pre prepared and researched so Cllr. Turner cannot claim to have spoken as he did as a result of having become angry in the heat of debate and used phrases that he did not mean. This being the case, to have taken sole personal credit for the £36 million investment in coastal defence and to insist that the reduction in the SRA paid to portfolio holders would inevitably result in less work being undertaken and work being performed more slowly is both unworthy of and unacceptable from a portfolio holder serving Tendring District Council.
As you are aware, I responded to Cllr. Turner’s statement by advising him that he should be sacked and my group is firmly of that opinion.
It would be a slap in the face to every dedicated and hard working officer serving TDC if Cllr. Turner was allowed to remain in post having publicly and deliberately expressed such views.
Furthermore, Cllr. Turner’s continued presence as a portfolio holder would undermine public confidence in your entire cabinet. If he is allowed to remain having created the perception that the commitment of a portfolio holder is directly proportional to the financial rewards available then the motivation of every portfolio holder will be equally questionable.
I am copying this letter to Cllr. Turner in the hope that he may accept that he has made his position untenable and resign but, should he fail to do so, I believe that you have no choice but to dismiss him from your cabinet if it is to retain any credibility.
For the sake of clarity, I wish to make it perfectly clear that the Labour group will not be referring this matter to the Monitoring Officer as, whilst we do believe that Cllr. Turner’s words have damaged the integrity of the council, we believe that his position as a member of your cabinet is entirely at your discretion and so we believe it is for you to take the action necessary to mitigate any reputational damage caused by his words.
Yours sincerely Ivan Henderson
Leader of the Labour group of Tendring District Councillors
