Independent councillors in North Tyneside have lodged a complaint with the local authority regarding a local Conservative Party leaflet they deem "deceitful" and "dishonest".
The newly formed St Mary's independent group has objected to a leaflet, produced by the local Tory Party, which initially reads as a letter from a "former school teacher", Chris Johnston. The letter goes on to tell Whitley Bay residents that voting independent in this week's local elections would only serve to split the Conservative vote, with the possibility of Labour coming in through the middle.
The letter goes on to say: "The highest vote share any independent has won in our area is 12.6%. It wasn't enough to win but did hand a safe Conservative seat to Labour."
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The letter concludes: "I'm not trying to tell you who to vote for - I just wanted to share my analysis of what the possible outcomes are here and what that means for residents."
However, Chris Johnston, whilst a retired teacher, is also a sitting Conservative councillor for Tynemouth. The letter makes no direct reference to Coun Johnston's political position with only small print revealing the Conservative link.
The sitting St Mary's Independents, all formerly Conservative councillors, resigned their membership from the Party in February this year, accusing the North Tyneside Conservative Federation of "sustained bullying" and becoming a "toxic behaviour". The Federation denies these allegations.
Independent St Mary's councillor Judith Wallace said: "The Council's code of conduct requires councillors to act with integrity and honesty, and not to do anything which brings the role of councillor or the council into disrepute; it states that behaviour that is considered dishonest and or deceitful can bring the council into disrepute.
"The letter breaches the code; it describes Chris Johnston as a former school teacher, making no mention of the fact that he is a Conservative councillor. It claims he's not telling readers how to vote, just sharing analysis, yet has the tiniest imprint stating it is printed and published by the Conservative agent and candidate. Many residents have asked us who Chris is and wondered how he has their contact details.
"Chris Johnston also claims the independent can't win by deliberately conflating last year's independent candidate, who had no previous involvement in St Mary's with this year's independent George Westwater, a sitting councillor with a high profile and a record of hard work. All told the letter is deceitful and dishonest and breaches the code, failing to act with honesty and integrity."
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "The letter is Chris' considered opinion as a former teacher and keen analyst of elections in North Tyneside for over a decade. The fact that the independents are not disputing the content of the letter shows that even though they know voting Independent will let Labour win in St Mary's ward for the first time ever."
Local elections will take place on May 4, 2023.
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