Why did Torbay councillor refuse civic chairman position?

There’s a right old to-do over in the Herald Express today about Cllr Matthew Phillips turning down the chance to become the next civic chairman of Torbay.

The paper insists, rather cruelly, that Phillips made the decision because elected mayor Nick Bye’s £50,000 of cash cuts signalled the end of the old mayor’s official Jaguar and chauffeur.

Luckily, the Express has unearthed plenty of evidence to back up its reputation-destroying accusations – and when we say ‘evidence’, we mean ‘wild conjecture and guesswork’.

Cllr Phillips apparently explained his decision by saying: “As the mayor has quite rightly said he would like a new order. And, as I am part of the old order, I will gracefully withdraw my name and thank the mayor and everybody for their support throughout this, the past year.”

This has been widely interpreted as saying he doesn’t want the job without the posho car – indeed the Express headlines the story with: ‘No Jag? I don’t want the job’. It goes without saying that this wasn’t an actual quote from Phillips.

Present chairman Cllr Michael Hytche says: “It was the honourable thing to do. He did it because the elected mayor has diminished the role to nothing. It was nothing to do with the car or the cash – that is a red herring.”

This seems a more rational reason for turning down the job. After all, what’s the point of a ceremonial position without any of the ceremony?

But deputy mayor Kevin Carroll guesses that Phillips ‘was not able to bring himself to do the job without the trappings’.

Ellacombe independent Cllr Julien Parrott agrees and says the decision ‘may suggest in some people’s minds that councillors really do stand for election to ride around in the Jag’.

These are pretty whacking accusations to make, and probably say more about the attitudes of those making the assumption. It seems to us that all Phillips is guilty of is not clarifying and elaborating on why he made the decision.

You can bet he will now, though – unless we’re wrong and it is all about the posho car, after all.
posted by Cptn

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