Topic: | Re:Be nice about Ed Mayne's parents | |
Posted by: | Dan Murphy | |
Date/Time: | 09/10/14 14:09:00 |
Yes, Andy is 100% right. There has never been the slightest indication that Cllr. Mayne's parents have had any involvement in this debacle, and so we must assume they have not. It is unfortunate for them, however, that Cllr Mayne allowed such an "apparent conflict of interest" to develop. He must have known that the fact his parents and close family friends live in Park Road would inevitably lead to the perception of a conflict, even if none existed. For that alone, he is at least partly responsible for his parents getting the odd lick from the brush. If Cllr. Mayne had the slightest sense of propriety he would of course have excused himself from the entire affair, saying "Unfortunately my parents live in one of those roads, and so it would be highly inappropriate for me to be seen as a champion for any CPZ there, especially given the overwhelming levels of opposition across the wider Grove Park area". Unfortunately, such a thought never crossed young Cllr. Mayne's mind. And even more unfortunately, his deeply questionable position in relation to this apparent conflict of interest has been fully supported by the LBH Legal Department. When they received several complaints that Cllr. Mayne had breached the rules on conflicts of interest, as set out in the "Members Code of Conduct" their response was (paraphrased): "Aha, no he has not breached the rules on conflict of interest. The rules only says he must excuse himself if a decision he makes could generate any benefit for a spouse or partner. It says nothing about parents. So there." So the LBH legal department's position is that the letter of the code is more important than the spirit. If he can get away with it on such a technicality, then it's fine for him to do it. Personally I find it deeply depressing that our councillors interpret the code of conduct in such a shabby and underhand manner, but frankly I am no longer surprised by anything they do. |