LibDems Weasel Words on Drink Driving

The LibDem group on Southwark Council seem to have battened down the hatches in the hope that the criminal drink drive conviction of Executive Member Cllr Denise Capstick will be forgotten. I still think that this is an absolutely unbelieveable response and sets the worst possible example across the borough.

Since suggesting that the Labour Group would report Cllr Capstick to the Standards Board for England I have received and seen comments from the LibDems which suggest that the Standards Board are bound to dismiss any complaint that is made against Denise as a result of the judgment of Mr Justice Collins in the Ken Livingstone v The Evening Standard case, in which the Judge ruled that anything which the Mayor did in his private life could not be regarded as bringing his public office into disrepute.

But this ignores the fact that on the 23rd of May this year Southwark Council Assembly voted to introduce a new Code of Conduct for members specifically as a consequence of Mr Justice Collins' judgment, and which specifically stated that members would bring the council into disrepute if they were guilty of criminal offences committed before the new Code took effect, but for which the member was not convicted until after the Code took effect.

So it seems to me that if all members signed up to the new Code of Conduct; as we all did - including Cllr Capstick; we should all be bound by it! It is nothing more than dishonourable and disreputable for LibDems to now say that the Code of Conduct has got nothing to do with them. This is exactly the sort of behaviour and weasel words which bring politics and politicians into disrepute.

So I repeat my plea from my last posting - Cllr Capstick should resign and resign now!