Uttlesford District Council election: Elsenham and Henham member Garry LeCount deselected by R4U and asked to step down as chair of standards committee while complaint against councillor was heard
A Residents for Uttlesford (R4U) councillor who hopes to be elected to Uttlesford District Council (UDC) as an Independent on May 4 has spoken of his "disappointment" at being deselected by the party.
Elsenham and Henham member Garry LeCount, who is still officially an R4U councillor until after polling day, believes his refusal to toe the party line and the fact that he asked “difficult questions” as chair of the council’s standards committee and vice chair of its scrutiny committee led the administration to cast him out.
His claims were disputed in a statement by R4U, which said the reason for its decision to deselect Cllr LeCount was his “personal conduct” and that the party “treated him fairly” throughout the selection process.
He was asked to step aside as chair of the standards committee when it met in private on Thursday April 13 to consider a complaint against a councillor.
The council has so far refused to reveal the outcome of the hearing – whether it cleared the member in question or investigations are continuing – despite the Indie’s repeated requests and the council’s own guidance, which states: “In cases where a Hearings Panel makes an adverse finding against a Member, its decision will be published on the Standards Committee pages of the Council’s website. This includes decisions relating to members of Town or Parish councils.”
A UDC spokesman told the Indie: “The matter is being handled according to established procedures and appropriate details relating to this case will enter the public domain in due course, and in the proper way, reflecting the decisions of the hearing panel.”
One voter has made an official complaint to Essex Police alleging that the council is deliberately hiding its decision from the electorate ahead of polling on May 4 and “thereby perverting the election”.
It would not be the first time that Essex Police has investigated UDC since the last election. In late 2020 officers began an 18-month probe into a matter outside council business which resulted in a file being sent to the Crown Prosecution Service. In July last year it was decided that no charges were to be laid.
At the time, UDC chief executive Peter Holt told the Indie: “The unfortunate knock-on impact of the police’s now-ended involvement in this outside matter was to delay the external audit of our 2019-20 annual governance statement and with that the sign-off to our 2019-20 annual accounts. Now that this impediment is removed, we hope to have our external auditors in at their earliest convenience to complete the... sign-off to our annual accounts.”
Ten months later, those accounts have still not been signed off – and the authority is remaining tight-lipped on this issue too ahead of election day.
Mr LeCount originally stood for R4U in 2017 and again in 2019, when it wiped out the Tory administration and took control of UDC. But he has become disillusioned with the party and said that he was left feeling like “a pariah”.
In a statement, he said: “In 2017 I decided to look at a local political career as an independent person to bring local issues to the people and central government’s attention. Basically, make a difference and make things happen.
“I was introduced to senior members of R4U, who convinced me this was the party I should attach my new political flag to. I agreed. I stood in 2017 in Henham/Elsenham and won 60% of the votes, and again in 2019.
“This time R4U won control of the council. Then it all started to go terribly wrong when they put me as vice-chair of scrutiny and chair of standards. At least now I could ask questions about their ridiculous cabinet decisions.”
Cllr LeCount said that this was “the start of my downfall in the party” as he claimed he was told: “You are no longer a team player” and “Why are you questioning our cabinet decisions?”
He said: “Soon I became an outsider and pariah in my own party. So when the nominations for my ward were put forward I was not selected – the only one of the original party of district councilors.
“Now I’m back where I started, as an Independent standing against a flawed and incompetent party structure who unfortunately cannot run an effective administration.
“Shame! They had all the power to make things happen but, due to weak leadership, failed when they started to believe their own publicity; lost nearly £3 million on one court case (which I opposed the defence strategy); a lack of new social housing; lost overall control of major planning applications (which means a developer can now go directly to the Planning Inspectorate).
“I’ve been living in Henham for over 40 years and believe I know what my residents need from a professional UDC administration.”
A spokesperson for R4U said: “We had discussions with Garry LeCount about his reselection as a Residents candidate for the Elsenham and Henham ward and a possible alternative location.
“We can confirm that he was not reselected. We’d like to thank him for his service.
“His characterisations of the reasons are not factually correct. He knows full well why R4U chose not to select him. They relate to his personal conduct in the ward over a period of time.
“As a party we believe in positive politics, which includes being respectful to the residents you represent and those you work with.
“We don’t intend to comment further as we believe this is a private matter for those involved. However, throughout the selection process we fully communicated with him and treated him fairly.”
The nine candidates for the two seats in Elsenham & Henham ward in the Uttlesford District Council election on May 4 are: Bob Burlton (Lab), Bianca Donald (R4U), Henry Farrelly (Con), Fraser James (Con), Garry LeCount (Ind), Petrina Lees (R4U), Sarah Mackay (Lib Dem), Anna Mowbray (Lab) and Abi Saffrey (Green).