Another Conservative councillor defects to UKIP in Spelthorne

A fifth Spelthorne Borough Councillor has defected to UKIP following Thursday's defection of four other councillors.

Cllr Kevin Flurry joined UKIP yesterday after the Conservative group leader kicked him out of their group. He becomes the fifth member of the new official opposition UKIP group on Spelthorne Borough Council.

Four Spelthorne Borough Councillors defect to UKIP

Four councillors publicly defected to UKIP at a meeting of Spelthorne Borough Council on Thursday.

Conservative councillors Denise Saliagopoulos and Joanne Sexton and independent councillors Quentin Edginton and Penny Forbes-Forsyth used Thursday's council meeting to make their announcements and laid the blame squarely at the feet of the Conservatives.

We cannot tolerate the way in which Spelthorne Borough Council is now being governed by the Conservatives, which we consider to be undemocratic, lacking in transparency and against the interests of our residents.

Back in 2014 a Spelthorne Conservative councillor was convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and a few months later the Conservative leader of Spelthorne Borough Council hit the deadlines for laughing during a speech by the father of a 7 year old boy killed in floods. Then in 2015 the Conservative administration voted to allow a Conservative councillor living in India to keep his seat even though he should have been barred for not attending meetings for 6 months. It's a wonder that only two of their councillors have defected!

The Spelthorne UKIP group will now replace the Lib Dems as the official opposition on Spelthorne Borough Council.

Spelthorne Borough Council vote to keep councillor who lives in India

Spelthorne Borough Council have voted to allow a Conservative councillor to keep his seat even though he has lived in India for the last 6 months.

Cllr Dipak Gohil hasn't attended a council meeting for 6 months and should have been removed as a councillor under the Local Government Act but the council voted to grant him a leave of absence which allows him to keep his seat. His Tory colleagues said that he can be contacted by phone, fax and email in India so residents are still getting adequate representation.

Last month the Conservative leader of Spelthorne Borough Council hit the headlines after he was challenged by the father of a boy killed during the 2013 floods for laughing whilst he was addressing the council about his son's death. In July last year another Conservative Spelthorne councillor was convicted of five counts of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

Spelthorne Conservatives have a serious credibility problem at the moment and voting to keep one of their councillors on the payroll when he's living 5,000 miles away isn't going to do them any favours.

Conservative councillor criticised for laughing during speech about 7 year old flood victim

The Conservative Leader of Spelthorne Borough Council, Cllr Robert Watts, has been given a public dressing down by the father of a 7 year old boy who died in a flood last year for laughing whilst he was addressing a council meeting about his son's death.

Kye Gbangbola was asking the council to support his calls for a public inquiry into his son's death. Seven year old Zane died of Hydrogen Cyanide poisoning when floods brought contaminated water from a former landfill site into their home. Kye was also poisoned and has been left in a wheelchair as a result. Cllr Watts was seen to be laughing whilst Gbangbola was speaking.

Cllr Watts has apologised for any "unintended offence" and said that he was smiling at the "customary flamboyance" of the leader of the Lib Dem group.

This is the second public embarrassment for Spelthorne Conservatives this year after Conservative councillor Asif Ayub was convicted of 5 counts of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.