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Crawley Borough Council: Labour Fall-Out Continues

Thursday, 2 July 2020 12:24

By Karen Dunn, Local Democracy Reporter

Trouble At The Top: Crawley Borough Council

Two Crawley councillors who resigned from the Labour Party have been accused of having a ‘long-standing hostility’ towards the leader of the borough council.

A statement from executive officers within the Labour Party in Crawley, criticised Karen Sudan and Rory Fiveash, who are now serving as Independents, for jumping ship ‘at this time when good leadership is so vital’.

The decision of the mother and son left the Conservatives with the most seats on the council, and leader Peter Lamb facing a vote of no confidence.

The statement said officers were ‘saddened’ by their decision to leave, adding:

“We are, though, at a loss to understand why, at this time when it is so important to stay focussed on much graver matters which are, literally, a matter of life and death for some, they chose to take this action.

“Surely, no matter what your personal issues are, you have a civic duty to put those matters in second place to the needs of the people you were elected to represent – particularly at this time when good leadership is so vital?

The statement continued:

“It is equally puzzling that the two councillors should take this moment to attack the leader of the council.

“Cllr Lamb has shown huge commitment to the people of this town, not only in how he has so effectively run the council’s Covid-19 support operation but in all his efforts long before that.”

Mrs Sudan had claimed backbenchers from both parties ‘have to fight to be heard’ under Mr Lamb’s leadership and accused him of dismissing the idea of a cross-party crisis committee to deal with the town’s response to the pandemic.

She added:

“Although I would not say that Peter Lamb has not worked hard or done his best, I believe that Crawley Borough Council’s response to the crisis has been poorer for lack of input from those of us who have a wealth of knowledge and experience, know our town and understand ‘our’ residents.”

But the statement from the executive said:

“We do not recognise the picture of Cllr Lamb the two disaffected councillors paint.

“He is a man who’s door is always open – to new ideas, questions, criticisms.

“All of Peter’s decisions have been made on the grounds of safety and in consultation with many others.”

Last month, Mrs Sudan challenged Mr Lamb for the leadership – losing heavily.

The statement added:

“The fact that he was again re-elected leader of the council only last month by an overwhelming majority of councillors surely speaks for itself.

“We only wish that Karen and Rory had taken the time to discuss their grievances rather than rushing off without, apparently, thinking about the impact on the town their actions will have.

“Whether it be their long-standing hostility to Cllr Lamb or Cllr Sudan’s disappointment at failing to win democratic elections to leadership roles within the Party – these are concerns which could have and should have been shared with us.”

The statement said executive officers were not aware the pair felt ‘bullied’.

It added:

“Perhaps had they discussed these complaints and the behaviours or actions which led to them we would have arrived at a better outcome.

“For the whole of Crawley.”

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