Teignbridge Councillor quits post over ‘infighting’

A prominent Devon councillor has resigned from an influential committee position, blaming ‘persistent infighting’ in the council chamber.

Independent John Radford, who represents Kerswell with Coombe at Teignbridge Council, says the behaviour of some councillors has created ‘unsustainable’ conditions for officers and staff working to provide essential services.
He has now quit as the vice chair of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee.
The council was recently hauled over the coals by independent advisors after a catalogue of incidents including swearing in the council chamber, shouting, muting one another’s microphones and walking out of meetings.
The situation is so bad that the council now plans to appoint an independent expert to help it get over its problems.
A meeting of the full council had to be suspended last summer after one member swore at the chair and in 2021 another meeting was disrupted after a physical confrontation between two councillors.
In a letter to fellow councillors, Cllr Radford said productive working relationships had been overshadowed by the behaviour issues.
He went on: “There seem to be so many complaints going to the monitoring officer that trying to concentrate on the day job is impossible for me. This persistent infighting amongst councillors has created an environment that is unsustainable for officers and staff that are tasked with providing essential services.”
Cllr Radford said he was not prepared to leave his political group in order to get a council post, and added: “Opportunities should be based on merit, not political allegiance.
“We are at a turning point. If we continue down this path of division, we will fail those who elected us. We must rise above political differences, set aside personal grievances, and work together, or we risk leading this council into dysfunction and failure.”