Councillors and agent cleared over county election expenses mistake

AN Exeter councillor at the centre of an election expenses row has been granted relief by a High Court judge who declared there had been “no bad faith”.

- by BRADLEY GERRARD Local Democracy Reporter

A clip from a podcast with Robert Sheridan, left, and cllrs Neil Stevens, centre, and Tony Stevens

(YouTube/Neil Stevens)

Councillor Neil Stevens accepted in his official written court submission that “mistakes had been made” but that he was “truly sorry” for this, and that he would “never make this kind of mistake again”.

Mr Justice Martin Spencer said he “wholly accepts” Cllr Neil Stevens’ explanation that mistakes came from “errors on his part and misadvice he was given by others he trusted and relied upon”.

“Neil Stevens had no experience of politics before becoming involved in this election,” Mr Justice Spencer said. “His background is as a distinguished member of the armed forces, and it is clear that his candidacy and the obligations which accompany it have formed a relatively steep learning curve on his part.”

The judge also granted relief to Robert Sheridan, who was the named election agent on Cllr Neil Stevens’ election expenses return, and stated that it was not necessary to grant relief to Cllr Neil Stevens’ brother, Cllr Tony Stevens, because “in my judgment, there was no breach of the rules or legislation in his case”.

The saga over election expenses emerged in June when Cllr Ed Hill revealed he had reported the Stevens brothers and Mr Sheridan to police due to the errors on election expenses forms.

At that time, Cllr Hill, who has subsequently been expelled from Reform UK and is now an independent member of Devon County Council, said Cllr Neil Stevens had spent £1,995.72 on his election campaign when the limit for his Alphington & Cowick seat was £1,827.04.