The Conservative Group at Thanet District Council is calling for the Independent Members of the Standards Committee to reconsider their resignation and to return to their positions to continue their work. They were heavily criticised by senior members of the administration at the last Standards Committee meeting but the Conservative Group accepts their report’s conclusions that the Council is 'held in low regard by the public' and 'has the appearance of a dysfunctional organisation.
Conservative Group leader, Cllr Bob Bayford said: “The Conservatives at TDC are committed to change. We will re-engage with the residents of Thanet and try to understand their expectations of us, explain to them the challenges of being an effective opposition without being seen to be unnecessarily antagonistic and, with them, develop a suite of policies that could deliver the Thanet that they want to see.”
Cllr Bayford submitted a motion to Council which called for filming of meetings to be permitted for an initial period of six months followed by a review of its effectiveness. This motion was rejected under the rule which prevents duplicate motions within a six month period. The Conservative Group will resubmit this motion when the six months covered by the ruling expires at the end of March.