By Carole Dennett
UPDATE – Monday, June 9. 1.30pm – Response added from IW Council
A row over the election of the Isle of Wight Council’s new chairman has taken a surreal turn – with at least two councillors calling for a key vote to be held again.
Cllr Chris Jarman, leader of the Empowering Islanders (EI) group, claims the May 21 election of Cllr Ian Dore as council chairman is invalid and that “no lawful act can follow from an unlawful act” – an argument used to challenge the legality of the 2003 Iraq War following Tony Blair’s infamous “dodgy dossier”, which – it was claimed – misled Parliament before a key vote.
The controversy began when outgoing chairman, Cllr Karl Love, was advised by the council’s legal officer, Francis Fernandez, that he could not preside over the election of his successor. Acting on that advice, Cllr Love left the chamber and did not vote. Cllr Dore was elected by 19 votes to 17.
Cllr Jarman – whose EI group and the Tories voted for Cllr Love –disagrees with the advice given on May 21, and now insists “all subsequent council decisions” may be illegitimate. He claims to have multiple legal opinions to support his position and cancelled the first meeting of the newly constituted Pension Fund Committee on Wednesday – which he was due to chair. Seven council officers and four guests had arrived before being told it would not go ahead.
In a statement on behalf of himself and three Conservatives, Cllrs Ed Blake, Vanessa Churchman and Warren Drew, Cllr Jarman declared it was unclear whether any of them had been lawfully elected to the committee, and that no meetings would take place until the chairman issue is “lawfully resolved”.
Cllr Jarman’s fellow EI member, Cllr Peter Spink has now claimed that the author of the legal text consulted by Mr Fernandez has “accepted it was incorrect”. He says that while the monitoring officer initially made an “innocent mistake”, he should now acknowledge and correct it by holding the vote to elect a chairman again.
In an exchange shared with all councillors, Cllr Jonathan Bacon pointed out that even if Cllr Love had voted, it would not have changed the result. He also questioned the legal advice being circulated – pointing out that the questions asking for it had not been shared.
Cllr Blake has confirmed that while the Conservatives found the “evidence” presented “quite interesting”, they are not seeking further legal advice.
And for reference – and to perhaps help our cash-strapped council save a few pennies – the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War, which cost £13 million and employed some of the best lawyers in the land, did not find that the war was illegal.
A spokesman for the Isle of Wight Council said: “The constitution was followed and the then chair was asked not to participate in his own election. There have been challenges about whether that was the correct procedure, and the issue is being considered internally.”
