Pendle councillor found to owe £4k in unpaid council tax
A councillor in Lancashire has been found to owe almost £4,000 in council tax, meaning he is now unable to vote on the authority's budget for this year as a result.Conservative Tim Ormerod who represents Vivary Bridge ward, owes £3,835 in total from the past three years, Pendle Borough Council confirmed.Liberal Democrat group leader David Whipp has called for his immediate resignation, adding: "This is a scandal."The BBC has contacted Mr Ormerod and the Conservatives for a comment.
Mr Ormerod was elected to the seat in May 2023 and has attended two committee meetings and one full council meeting since December 2023.
'Residents want answers'
If a councillor fails to attend meetings for six months, unless this had been approved by the council, they automatically cease to be a councillor.Mr Whipp said: "This is a scandal. Councillor Ormerod has only attended two meetings in the past 14 months, the bare minimum to avoid disqualification for non-attendance."Residents rightly want answers as to why this situation has been allowed for three years."The council's director of resources Karen Spencer said: "Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 makes it an offence for a councillor in council tax arrears of at least two months to vote at a council meeting where financial matters relating to council tax are being considered."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
EU country pays up to €25 to repair your clothes and abstain from fast-fashion
This county's scheme to push it's consumers away from 'fast-fashion' brands like Shein and Temu offers shoppers up to €25 per repair for old clothes and shoes and advocates for "virtuous" purchasing France's scheme to encourage the public to repair their existing clothes and shoes instead of purchasing new items could make you some extra cash, as you save from not throwing old ones away. Launched in October 2023, France's bonus scheme was put in action, offering a discount of €6 (£5) and €25 (£21) per repair after their Junior Ecology minister, Bérangère Couillard, protested the 700,000 tonnes of clothing that's dumped in France's landfill's each year in 2023. Promising to contribute €154m (£131m) to the scheme across the first five years, the French government aims to improve in sustainability and influencing their consumers away from 'fast-fashion' brands such as Shein and create new jobs by supporting the repair industry. Couillard had suggested for "all sewing workshops and shoemakers to join the system" that rebates €7 for a new heel for old shoes and €10-€25 for new lining to be added to a jacket, skirt or other garment, reported the BBC at the time. Couillard also said that the government's commitment dealing with the overwhelming rise of 'fast fashion' is "external" as it wishes for the French public to opt for more "virtuous" purchases and to repair them rather than contributing to the dark side of consumer-landfill. A group asked to set up said scheme, named Refashion, claims 3.3. billion items - including clothing, homeware textiles and footwear - were added to France 's market in 2024. And whilst the impressive goal is a step forward in the right direction for sustainability and climate change, some But not everyone is happy about the approach. Right-wing French MP, Eric Pauget, highlighted that the government was already stuck in debt of €3trillion (£2.5trillion) and that they should "stop throwing the French public's money out of the window". Working for the Haute Couture and Fashion Federation, Pascal Morand shared his worry for the potential effect the new scheme would have on luxury brands. Speaking to Le Monde newspaper, he said: "A silk organza shouldn't be judged as less durable than a polyester one based purely on its physical resistance". Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! An addition to the sustainability motion is an enforced labelling system that insists items are detailed with their environmental impact. This new rule came into action on 1 January 2024 and is still in effect. France's rules now mean that manufacturers list the amount of water needed to make and item of clothing, as well as the chemicals involved, the level of microplastic emissions risk and whether the product has any recycled materials in them. Whilst the country is one Europe's largest fashion exporter, with an average of 35.7 billion euros of export revenue according to Fashion United and Institut Francais de la Mode, from November 2018, it has seen a noticeable decline in recent years. Fashion United reports that in 2020 French consumers dipped below the European average, spending around €430 on clothing. France now plans to band 'fast-fashion' giants Shein and Temu in its continued efforts of sustainability.
North Wales Chronicle
9 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
US state politician and husband killed in ‘targeted' attacks on two Democrats
A second state politician and his wife were wounded in the attacks in the Brooklyn Park and Champlin areas of Minnesota on Saturday. Minnesota governor Tim Walz described the attack as 'targeted political violence'. Police were searching for the gunman responsible for the attacks on the Democratic legislators. Writings found inside a fake police car recovered at one of the shooting scenes mentioned the names of multiple legislators and other officials, Brooklyn Park Police chief Mark Bruley said. Two people familiar with the matter identified the suspect being sought as 57-year-old Vance Boelter. They could not publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Melissa Hortman, a former Minnesota House Speaker, and her spouse were shot and killed early on Saturday in their Brooklyn Park home. A second state politician, senator John Hoffman and his wife, were shot multiple times in Champlin. Officials say both Ms Hortman and Mr Hoffman were mentioned in the suspect's writings. 'When we did a search of the vehicle, there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials,' said Mr Bruley. 'We immediately made alerts to the state. We took action on alerting them and providing security where necessary.' State patrol colonel Christina Bogojevic asked people 'out of an abundance of caution' not to attend any of the 'No Kings' protests that were scheduled across the state on Saturday. Ms Bogojevic said authorities did not have any direct evidence that the protests would be targeted, but said the suspect had some 'No Kings' flyers in their car. Organisers announced that all of the protests across the state were cancelled. Hours after the shootings, hundreds of police and sheriff deputies from departments in the region, some in tactical gear with assault style weapons were scattered through the town. They were also occasional police roadblocks where cars are stopped and checked. Mr Walz said Ms Hortman and Mr Hoffman were deliberately targeted. 'We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,' Mr Walz said at a press conference Saturday. 'Those responsible for this will be held accountable.' At the time of her death, Ms Hortman was the top Democratic leader in the state legislature. She was also a former House speaker and was first elected in 2004. She and her husband had two children. Mr Hoffman, a Democrat, was first elected in 2012. He previously served as vice-chairman of the Anoka Hennepin School Board, which manages the largest school district in Minnesota. Mr Hoffman and his wife have one daughter and he represents a district north of Minneapolis. Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that authorities were actively searching for a suspect. Post-mortem examinations will be carried out to determine extent of injuries, but Ms Hortman and her spouse died from gunshot wounds, Mr Evans said. A 'shelter in place' order was in effect early on Saturday. Public safety commissioner Bob Jacobson said the suspect was posing as a law enforcement officer. Mr Bruley said the suspect fled out of the back of Ms Hortman's house after an exchange of gunfire with police. The suspect was dressed like a uniformed officer and operating a vehicle that 'looked exactly like an SUV squad car. It was equipped with lights, emergency lights and looked exactly like a police vehicle,' Mr Bruley said. US President Donald Trump said in a White House statement that the FBI would join in the investigation. 'Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. 'Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!' Minnesota House speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, called the attack 'evil' and said she was 'heartbroken beyond words' by the killings of Ms Hortman and her husband, Mark. 'With the law enforcement response ongoing and details still emerging, I will simply ask all Minnesotans to please lift up in prayer the victims of this horrific attack, as well as the law enforcement personnel still working to apprehend the perpetrator,' Ms Demuth said in a statement. The shootings happened at a time when political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated during a time of deep political divisions.
Leader Live
11 hours ago
- Leader Live
US state politician and husband killed in ‘targeted' attacks on two Democrats
A second state politician, senator John Hoffman, and his wife were shot and wounded in the 'targeted' attack in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota on Saturday, said governor Tim Walz. I've activated the State Emergency Operations Center. Local law enforcement in Champlin and Brooklyn Park have the full resources of the State of Minnesota behind them. We are monitoring the situation closely and will share more information soon. — Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) June 14, 2025 'We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,' Mr Walz said at a press conference on Saturday. 'Those responsible for this will be held accountable.' Ms Hortman was the top House Democratic leader in the state legislature and a former house speaker. She was first elected in 2004, was a lawyer and married with two children. Mr Hoffman, a Democrat, was first elected in 2012 and runs Hoffman Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm. He previously served as vice-chairman of the Anoka Hennepin School Board, which manages the largest school district in Minnesota. Mr Hoffman is married and has one daughter. Both Ms Hortman and Mr Hoffman represented districts located north of Minneapolis. Authorities were actively searching for a suspect in the hours following the shootings. Public safety commissioner Bob Johnson said the suspect was posing as a law enforcement officer. Hundreds of police and sheriff deputies from departments in the region, some in tactical gear with assault style weapons were scattered through the town. Occasional police roadblocks had been set up where cars were stopped and checked. Police later recovered writings that mentioned the names of multiple legislators and other officials in a fake police car they believe the suspect used in the shooting. Officials say both Ms Hortman and Mr Hoffman were mentioned in the suspect's writings. Brooklyn Park Police chief Mark Bruley said: 'When we did a search of the vehicle, there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials. 'We immediately made alerts to the state. We took action on alerting them and providing security where necessary.' Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said post-mortem examinations will be carried out to determine extent of injuries, but added that Ms Hortman and her spouse died from gunshot wounds. Mr Bruley said the suspect fled out of the back of Ms Hortman's house after an exchange of gunfire with police. The suspect was dressed like a uniformed officer and operating a vehicle that 'looked exactly like an SUV squad car,' he said. 'It was equipped with lights, emergency lights and looked exactly like a police vehicle.' Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said in a White House statement that the FBI would join in the investigation. 'Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. 'Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!' Minnesota House speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, called the attack 'evil' and said she was 'heartbroken beyond words' by the killings of Ms Hortman and her husband, Mark. 'With the law enforcement response ongoing and details still emerging, I will simply ask all Minnesotans to please lift up in prayer the victims of this horrific attack, as well as the law enforcement personnel still working to apprehend the perpetrator,' Ms Demuth said in a statement. The shootings happened at a time when political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated during a time of deep political divisions. Giffords, the national gun violence prevention organisation led by former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released the following statement. 'I am horrified and heartbroken by last night's attack on two patriotic public servants,' Ms Giffords said. 'My family and I know the horror of a targeted shooting all too well. An attack against lawmakers is an attack on American democracy itself. 'Leaders must speak out and condemn the fomenting violent extremism that threatens everything this country stands for.' Ms Giffords was shot in the head in 2011 by a gunman who killed six people and injured 12 others. She stepped down from congress in January 2012 to focus on her recovery.
