Council admits ‘bullying’ councillor cannot be sacked at emotional meeting

Emotional councillors threatened to resign at a local council meeting as they admitted they could not sack a colleague who ‘bullied’ staff.

Councillor Linda Derrick of Hughenden Parish Council near High Wycombe was found in March to have ‘bullied’ two Council clerks and breached the local council’s Code of Conduct.

On Tuesday night (September 26) Hughenden councillors agreed that Cllr Derrick, who represents Widmer End Ward, had further breached the code by failing to apologise.

During an extraordinary meeting, councillors unanimously backed three motions to make a formal complaint against Cllr Derrick to the Council; to request she remove Council staff’s names from her blog; and to refer the matter to HR.

Cllr Derrick, who was absent from the meeting, categorically denies the allegations of bullying, one of which relates to a “10- minute unwitnessed meeting” between her and the then-Clerk in the Council office carpark in 2021.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I do not think people who know me have ever known me to shout or be aggressive. I just asked for some information.”

The bitter disputes over Cllr Derrick’s refusal to resign has paralysed the Council, which considered bringing in consultants Hoey Ainscough on a £1,500 initial fee to help resolve the situation.

But some councillors are now at breaking point and threatened to quit during Tuesday night’s meeting, which was overseen by former Town Clerk Louise Steele, of the Local Government Resource Centre.

Cllr Usha Prashar said: “So many resources have been diverted to dealing with this issue. I have only been with the Council since November… I will consider resigning… As chair of the HR Committee I do despair.”

Cllr Marc Byrom added: “I have been on a knife edge for some time know… What is tipping me over the edge is this… I am very close.”
Council Chair Stan Jones replied: “It has been extremely frustrating for all of us. We haven’t got the authority to sort it.”

Cllr Gareth Cadwallader said: “I do not want to participate in the ongoing provision of working environment, which we have had consistent feedback from a number of employees, is not a safe environment.”

The sleepy parish of Hughenden Valley has been badly affected by the Council being preoccupied with Cllr Derrick, according to former Hughenden councillor Peter Williams, the only member of the public present at Tuesday’s meeting.

He told the LDRS: “There has been a long-term cost to the community. One particular example is the playground at Templewood, which has not been replaced because the Council has to focus on the matter in hand.

“It is horrific that one person has turned the Council into a crumbling institution.”

In a statement, Hughenden Parish Council said: “Earlier this year the Council made the difficult decision to sanction one of its councillors and required her to carry out some remediation activities.

“Sadly, Cllr Derrick has failed to demonstrate any willingness to understand the impact of her behaviour and much less to apologise and correct her actions.

“The Council believes this to be a further breach of the Code of Conduct. The Council has now decided to make a formal complaint to the Buckinghamshire Council monitoring officer.”