Once again, just when we think that Kenyon and his band of co-conspirators have hit rock bottom, they manage to create another all-time low point.
As expected, the whole evening was staged managed, ranging from trying to try to rewrite history, creative accounting, and rules broken to show how well and how knowledgeable Kenyon and his motley gang are in effect doing, in the lead up to and during the important Councillors vote of no confidence debate, in the Chair of the Council Kenyon.
Only 2 days earlier, Kenyon and his cabal had shown total disrespect by not being in attendance to face the residents of our community, at the long avoided Electors’ meeting.
The row of empty seats said it all.
A vote of no confidence was passed at that meeting, in James Kenyon, with no dissenting votes.
The anger and disgust at his leadership and the way his supporting councillors have acted, used and wasted so much of our money was clearly vented but has apparently fallen on deaf ears.
The following Councillors voted to support Kenyon and will now be named and shamed:
The hall of shame
Councillor J Eccles
Councillor G Eccles
Councillor Wilson
Councillor Hirst
Councillor Mitchell
Councillor Pringle
And of course
Councillor Kenyon himself.
The following councillors voted no confidence in Kenyon:
The Hall of Fame
Councillor Hird
Councillor Middleton
Councillor Hardacre
Councillor G Westmorland
Councillor A Westmorland
Councillor Dodson
One Councillor abstained from voting:
Councillor Folletti
Ferret finds this hard to understand, the question is a simple one, do you have confidence in the Chair of Hemsworth Town Council, judging him on his conduct, and the way he has led and conducted himself and business, over the last 3 years he has been in office?
You either support or don’t.
There is no halfway house and sitting on the fence when such serious issues have been reported and exposed.
One Councillor was absent, Councillor Moran and sent her apologies.
Ferret hopes that all Councillors will endeavour to be present at the next meeting when there will be another opportunity to remove Kenyon when the election of a new Chair for the next year takes place.
Broken Rules
Hemsworth Town Councils standing orders clearly state:
Extract below
1. Rules of debate at meetings
S, Before an original or substantive motion is put to the vote, the chairman of the meeting shall be satisfied that the motion has been sufficiently debated and that the mover of the motion under debate has exercised or waived his right of reply.
Councillor Hardacre proposed the Motion of No Confidence.
Councillor Middleton seconded the proposal of No Confidence.
Jim Kenyon, Chair of the Council refused to allow ANY debate despite loud protests from the councillors, stating it was a straight forward and to go to the vote.
He was obviously afraid of his misconduct being exposed again and recorded for all to see and hear, and proceeded straight to take the vote.
Absolutely disgraceful behaviour, against everything this country stands for, the freedom of speech, enshrined in law and the Council’s standing orders but not in Hemsworth, Freedom of Speech does not live here anymore.
After rushing through the well-arranged and rehearsed vote, believe it or not, Kenyon avoided facing the wrath of the meeting, by leaving by the fire exit.
That in itself says everything about the character of this man now leading Hemsworth Town Council and representing this community.
This Country and its brave men, women and children for generations have fought, and given their lives, not only here in the united Kingdom but all over the world to establish and defend the right of freedom of speech.
Last night we witnessed an act by the “Chair” of Hemsworth Town Council that was a direct insult and assault to the people both living and departed of not only this community but this country who have given so much to establish their democratic right of free speech, in a free country.
He could not have done this without the support of:
Councillor J Eccles
Councillor G Eccles
Councillor Wilson
Councillor Hirst
Councillor Mitchell
Councillor Pringle
There will be another opportunity to elect a new chair of Hemsworth Town Council next month at the Annual Town Council meeting, So
Councillor J Eccles
Councillor G Eccles
Councillor Wilson
Councillor Hirst
Councillor Mitchell
Councillor Pringle
Do you really want to go down in this community’s history as people who condoned this disgusting behaviour of Jim Kenyon and have this stain on your character?
Think long and hard, over the next few weeks.
Ferret believes some of you are beyond redemption but that there is still hope that one or two of you may realise the consequences that your misplaced loyalty will have in the eyes of this community, probably for the rest of your lives.
By choosing a new Chair person you can start to make amends in the eyes of the people you are supposed to be representing…
Abstaining? On a serious question as this yes a contraversial one but one not challenging of one’s grey matter a simple yes or no. If you can’t decide on a yes or no maybe you shouldn’t be in there.
how the hell does kenyon get to cast a vote in a matter about himself?. is there not a conflict of interest there ?. he should not get a vote in it.
Last night has worried me, going by last night’s voting the cabal will maintain control when it goes to voting for chair.
I’ve done a very quick bit of research and basically (from what I can gather) we the electorate have no say in the matter. It’s all down to elected councillors.
So last night’s votes if predictive will just keep the cabal in.
Folletti absteining will no doubt be a vote for the cabal. I know one councillor was absent but even with that vote going against the cabal leaves an even vote. If I’m right with my quick bit of research the now chair gets a casting vote.
It feels very much like “hell in a handcart” for us.
If this isn’t the case I’m all ears to being enlightened.
If this whole debacle has taught me one thing, it’s that before I put my cross in a box, I will do in depth research of the candidate
It’s simple. The community does not matter. Your green spaces do not matter. Your views and opinions do not matter. The public vote of no confidence does not matter.
The allegations made do not matter. Democracy does not matter.
Thats the only conclusion we can draw. Or so they would have you believe.
As I’ve always said, I don’t make allegations. I have no axe to grind with any Councillor, including Mr Kenyon. I wouldn’t even recognise most of them if they passed me on the street. That in itself tells me that they don’t do a lot in the community for the electorate. Some do care. That’s a fact.
But, what does matter here are the very principles on which they were elected. Truth, transparency and integrity.
There are sufficient concerns to warrant a full scale investigation. If there is no substantiating evidence to support the allegations, let me be the first person to offer my apologies to the councillors concerned. But, it seems we will never know the truth, because it is being hidden. So, bye bye truth and transparency.
Hemsworth, fitzwilliam and Kinsley each has a heritage. There are memorials to those who lost their lives fighting to protect our democratic way of living. To each and everyone of those souls, I offer my heartfelt thanks and say that ultimately truth, transparency and integrity will prevail. But only when accountability makes an appearance. It is clear at this stage that this is sadly absent in our Town Council.
I am hoping that even the named and shamed (Ferrets words not mine) councillors will do the right thing, to restore public confidence and show us that they do care about the community. We will see. But, please can we resist the temptation to pillorise councillors who may not share our own beliefs about what is going on. It only polarises people, and there will not be any constructive outcomes without the support and fair representation of all of our councillors.
I’ll probably get criticism for this post, but like most of you I am disillusioned, and to date it’s been like water off Kenyon’s back. There has to be some constructive dialogue now. Including Councillor jim Kenyon telling us exactly why he thinks he is the person for the job, and his supporters explaining their support. Otherwise, the chaos will just continue.
Regards
The fact that those councillors abstained is a disgrace to this community! I am disgusted at the ones who abstained and I don’t know how they can hold their heads up. Wait until one of the abstainers’ wife gets on as that is clearly her plan!
On Tuesday night Cllrs J and G Eccles both abstained when the Vote of no Confidence was held.
Just 2 days later, they decide to vote against – or did they?
They actually voted to support an amended proposal – a Vote of Confidence! Why on earth did this happen?
Yes it was pre-planned as Cllr Kenyon has never before asked for amendments to a proposal.
But then, aren’t amendments to any proposal supposed to take place before ANY vote is made?
It’s all gone a bit bonkers.
Are they really so intent on holding onto power in opposition to the community they are expected to serve?
It’s just absolutely mental behaviour on the face of it……..so what exactly is their hidden agenda?