Leader survives vote of censure

Nov 29 2007 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

THE under-fire leader of the North’s largest local authority survived a vote of no confidence yesterday.

Albert Nugent, who was backed by 31 votes to four after a behind-closed-doors meeting of Durham County Council’s Labour group, angrily hit out afterwards at “the bickering and back-biting” among council members.

Yesterday’s meeting was the culmination of a torrid few weeks for the retired Seaham miner.

An application by his chief executive, Mark Lloyd, to take up a similar post in Cambridge became public knowledge after the leader of Cambridgeshire County Council was forced to quit after admitting making an “inappropriate” telephone call to him.

Following the call from Coun Shona Johnstone, Mr Lloyd decided to withdraw his name from the shortlist for the Cambridgeshire job. Coun Nugent was also criticised after the county hired Ann Reeder, a Hampstead-based consultant, as a £750-a-day political adviser. Although minutes of a council meeting agreeing to her appointment clearly stated that she was hired “as a consultant to the Labour Group”, the county council was forced to backtrack, saying the minutes “were an error caused by loose drafting”.

Council treasurer Stuart Crowe later insisted that Ms Reeder’s services were available to councillors of all parties.

Then Coun Nugent was threatened with the police by Independent John Shuttleworth, who discovered an 8in plastic toy dagger in his locker with a note saying: “John, I return the knife, Albert.”

The note was a reference to Coun Shuttleworth raising the subject of Ms Reeder, and although Coun Nugent insisted it was meant as a joke, Coun Shuttleworth claimed to have been “intimidated and unable to sleep”.

After yesterday’s vote of confidence, Coun Nugent said: “I just wish opposition members and some members of our own group would stop bickering and get on with the job of serving the people of County Durham, the job we have been elected to do.”

To add to his woes, elections for the proposed new unitary council for County Durham loomed a step nearer with news that the Government had pencilled in a polling day for next year – a year earlier than he had hoped.