DEAR EDITOR - In reply to Councillor Dr Lammie's letter, 'Speaking for the Electorate', on November 12, I would like to establish the correct facts.
1 - Cllrs Psirides, Lammie and Doyle were suspended for six months for blatantly breaking the rules of the Conservative group.
2 - Cllr Dr Lammie has broken group rules for the second time while still a member of the group, as indicated in your footnote, by divulging to the press what she thought were the discussions and decisions of the group.
3 - The suggestion that I stood up to second the proposal made by Cllr Psirides is incorrect. I was rigid with shock and anger that a former Conservative leader, who expected and obtained the loyalty of the group, could stand up and propose an amendment that had not been discussed anywhere else and which was not an improvement on what had been agreed.
4 - In proposing the five parts of the recommendation, I took each one separately to allow full discussion on each point. It was at this point that Cllr Psirides put forward his amendment seconded by Cllr Dr Lammie and in the circumstances I accepted it.
5 - When the discussion was finished and the vote was about to be taken, the leader of the opposition proposed quite properly that each item be taken and voted on separately and in the interests of proper democratic practice, I agreed to his request. This is not unusual and has been done often in the past. There was certainly no confusion about it and experienced councillors understood it.
6 - The three councillors suspended are experienced councillors who knew rules of debate and the group rules. They were suspended from the group for six months, a just but minor punishment, for deliberately breaking those rules, not for anything else.
Cllr Dr Lammie as a former GP and magistrate understands full well what is meant by confidentiality. Perhaps she should apply this practice to her political work. She is now operating under false colours. She should demonstrate her ability to 'speak for the electorate' by submitting herself for election as an Independent to those who elected her as a Conservative - for she is now not speaking for them.
Margaret Taylor
Deputy Leader
Bromsgrove District Council
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