Reform says claims of scrapping key council meetings 'absolute nonsense'

CONSERVATIVES SAY AUTHORITY IS 'RUDDERLESS'

- By LAUREN MONAGHAN & RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

THE new Reform leadership at Nottinghamshire County Council has been accused of “not doing its job” after key council meetings were allegedly removed from its June diary.

But the council’s Reform leader Mick Barton dismissed the criticism as “absolute nonsense”.

Reform UK took control of the council on May 2 in a sweeping victory that saw the party winning 40 out of 66 seats. Since then, the group has announced Councillor Barton as the authority's leader and appointed other senior positions.

Two by-elections for the authority are due - one in Mansfield North on June 12, following the death of candidate Karen Seymour, and one in Newark West after Reform councillor Desmond Clarke stepped down a week after being elected.

Now, Conservative opposition councillors claim it has been a “shambolic start” for the new authority after a number of key council meetings were removed from the calendar for June. According to Conservative councillors, June’s Cabinet, Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Planning and Rights of Way Committee and Governance and Ethics Committee meetings have all been removed from the diary. The authority still had five other June meetings scheduled as of June 2.