Cumbrian Patriots

Fortitudine Vincimus: By endurance we conquer! "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." --Plato

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Location: Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom

I am The British National Party North West Regional Organiser.

Sunday, 17 October 2010

Are there any consequenses?

The continuing saga that is the financial and political upheaval of the Parish Council, of which I am a Councillor, continued this week when we published the report of the external auditor we called in to investigate the goings on of the previous council.
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The report is absolutely scathing of the previous council chairman and many others.
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The situation came to a head at the start of the year when 10 councillors walked out triggering the election in which I took my seat on the council.
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The auditors report is not the final piece of the puzzle as the previous clerk is now suing us (The Broughton Council) for "constructive dismissal. Which is an absolute outrage if you knew the facts as I do.
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What was also outrageous was the legal advise which was that if we fought it and won it would cost us more money than settling now!!!!
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Such is the state of the legal system in our country and I proposed that we fight the claim on the grounds of what is right not what might be cheapest, and after some debate enough of my fellow councillors voted with me to insist on challenging the claim rather than paying of the clerk.
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There will be more twists in the tale of this little Parish Council before this episode is finished and with the upcoming huge development of the ex military base at Broughton our little council is a very high profile council all of a sudden, with media attending the meetings and standing room only in the public area.
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I advise all British National Party members and especially the officials to attend and gain seats on all the town and parish councils possible, they are not paid positions - genuine public servants - but we must occupy the lower tiers of Government, as well as learning our trade we are very much needed in these councils, as with Westminster and all the District and County councils, our parish and town councils have also been infested by the lazy, the corrupt and the people who are only interested in furthering their own personal agendas.
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Below is the write up in this weeks Times and Star:
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Unapproved spending confirmed at Broughton Community Council
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BROUGHTON Community Council made £6,064 of unauthorised payments in the last financial year, an external audit has shown.
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The audit, which backs up a report from an internal auditor, showed that £3,661 of that received retrospective approval from the council, despite its clerk not having authority to make payments without prior approval. Another £2,403 was not approved by the council.
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The external auditor’s report, received at a meeting of Broughton Parish Council on Monday, highlighted problems faced by the previous council, including financial regulations being breached and budgets not being monitored.
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It echoed the findings of internal auditor Michael Johnson, whose report said most of the former council and the clerk had ignored legal processes and that the council had suffered a complete breakdown in governance.
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The council ceased to exist in February when 10 members resigned.
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The internal audit found it was not properly constituted following the resignation of chairman Keith Sproat in December, as a new chairman was not elected.
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Clerk Jill Hunter had also resigned in December but councillors refused to accept her resignation.
The council was re-formed in May by remaining councillors Brian Beck and Brian Lancaster, existing councillor-elect Vera Sherwood and 10 other new councillors.
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The external auditor recommended that the new council ensures all expenditure is given prior approval to avoid breaching financial regulations.
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The report added: “Payments made without authorisation of the council could result in the councillors and/or clerk being subject to investigation and possibly legal proceedings.”
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It urged the council to review the effectiveness of its internal audit process and monitor its budgets throughout the year.
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Chairman John Wilson said: “I’m glad that it’s now over because there can be no arguments at all with the Government report so all this business of casting aspersions around is finished.”
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Coun Brian Beck, who is still being investigated by local government watchdog Standards for England following a complaint by Mrs Hunter, said he was relieved to have been exonerated by the auditors’ reports.
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Coun Beck, who was praised by the internal auditor, along with Coun Lancaster and Coun Sherwood, for freezing the council’s bank accounts following the resignations in February, said: “I have been castigated, vilified, I have been called a liar, and been told I’m trying to get access or control of bank accounts by the last clerk.”
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Coun Clive Jefferson asked what action would be taken against those involved in the disgraceful actions of the previous council, adding that it could affect public opinion if nothing was seen to be done.
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But Coun Wilson said that was outside the council’s jurisdiction.
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He added: “Our primary task is to work for the good of this village for the future.”

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