Call for Lib Dem leader to resign

Dec 10 2007 by Ben Guy, The Journal

A PROMINENT member of two councils attempted to fix an online public consultation poll by posting almost 100 votes from his computer before lying to cover up his actions, it was claimed last night.

There were calls for councillor Derek Kennedy to resign last night after a joint investigation by Northumberland County and Tynedale District councils traced the extra votes to his computer

An internal email, seen by The Journal, confirms that the investigation, carried out by county council technical staff, found that 93 votes had apparently been made via Coun Kennedy’s unique Internet Protocol address.

Coun Kennedy, who is leader of the Tynedale Liberal Democrats and also a county councillor, has previously denied having anything to do with the rigged vote, claiming that as the father of a young child he did not have time to sit at a computer and cast multiple votes.

But other councillors yesterday said he had little option but to resign.

Deputy leader of the Tory-ruled council Colin Horncastle said: “The sooner he goes the better.

“He criticised the consultation exercise, claiming it was open to abuse, and yet it appears he is the one who abuses it. If these votes are down to him he is not fit to be the leader of the Liberal Democrats and should have the decency to resign.”

The online poll was held on the Tynedale Council website earlier this year to ask the public their thoughts on a new leadership structure for the council. The options included switching to a cabinet system – vigorously opposed by Coun Kennedy and his party – from the previous committee structure.

The Journal first revealed that the poll, which was part of a consultation exercise that the council was legally obliged to carry out, was open to abuse in September.

When it subsequentially emerged that it had apparently been tampered with, the extra votes were filtered out and Tynedale Council switched to a leader and cabinet system two months ago.

In total almost 900 multiple votes are believed to have been cast, and the investigation is being continued to find where the other extra votes were posted.

Leader of the council Michael Walton said: “Following an incident of multi-voting during the consultation process for a change in governance arrangements, I asked the council’s monitoring officer to investigate the matter.

“Unfortunately this investigation has implicated a Tynedale Council member and, as a consequence, I shall be seeking further advice as to how this potential breach of the Code of Conduct should be addressed.”

The Journal made several attempts to contact Coun Kennedy yesterday, but he was unavailable for comment.

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Second time local politician has attracted headlines

THE Journal’s exposure of the controversy surrounding Coun Derek Kennedy and an apparent attempt to rig an online poll is the second time in recent months that the politician has attracted the wrong headlines.

In October we reported how Coun Kennedy had accidently left a message on the wrong answer phone, in which his opponents allege he discussed confidential Tynedale Council business.

To make matters worse, the phone he left the message on belonged to the Tory leader of the council, Michael Walton.

Coun Kennedy denied breaking any rules by leaving the message – which was intended for a county councillor – and said that he had no intention of resigning, despite calls from opposition councillors.

But Coun Colin Horncastle said the latest scandal left Coun Kennedy in a very difficult position.

He said: "It is the second time in as many months that he has apparently been caught out undermining the district council."