A top councillor broke her authority’s code of conduct by tweeting a snap of an opponents’ election leaflet on a toilet roll holder. But Coun Janet Emsley, deputy leader of Rochdale council, will not face a formal investigation into the matter after bosses decided it would be ‘wholly disproportionate to the allegations’.
Acting assistant director Sue Hedges ruled it was ‘not serious enough to merit any action’ and there was ‘no overriding public benefit in carrying out an investigation’, in a letter to complainant Ian Jackson. Mr Jackson - who is chair of Littleborough Civic Trust but complained in a personal capacity - says he has gone to the ombudsman over the decision, claiming it suggests elected members can act with ‘impunity’.
It comes after Coun Emsley shared the snap on social media following former Labour councillor John Hartley’s announcement he would be standing for the Conservatives in May’s local elections. He will be the Tory candidate for the Littleborough Lakeside ward he represented as a Labour councillor between 2012 and 2022.
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Mr Hartley’s decision infuriated Labour and Coun Emsley tweeted the toilet roll snap shortly afterwards, clearly implying an alternative use for the election flyer. It remains visible on her Twitter feed, which has more than 2,800 followers.
