Council chiefs fed up with Reform councillors' conduct

Council chief executives are not exactly underpaid, but the likelihood of them asking for more money is increasing with the aggro linked to Reform’s growing influence in local government.

A survey by the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers found more than half thought councillors’ standards of behaviour are getting worse, with an astonishing 92% having experienced inappropriate behaviour, including abuse, during the past three years.

One chief exec described how he was labelled “part of the cultural Marxist elite” and then stalked in person as well as online. Others reported being bullied or berated and, in one case, officers being called into the council leader’s office like naughty schoolchildren.

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It was here, earlier this year, that the leader and deputy leader of the council’s Reform group claimed chief executive Damian Allen was threatening to take legal action against them after they questioned advice he gave councillors over a £57m loan to support the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Like most chief execs, Allen is remaining tight-lipped about the affair and his feelings in general about Reform. But he was almost certainly relieved when Labour mayor Ros Jones stepped in and offered her support, allowing the row to blow over.

Meanwhile, Norfolk chief executive Tom McCabe has decided enough is enough, quitting weeks after Reform took control of the county council at the local elections. Was it local government reorganisation that led to McCabe handing in his notice, or the thought of enforcing Reform’s new ban on Pride events in the county’s libraries?