Northumberland county councillors have voted down a proposal that would have forced all councillors who are members of any masonic lodges to declare their membership in their register of interests.
Councillors were debating the adoption of the new Local Government Association (LGA) Code of Conduct at a meeting of the full council on Thursday.
By adopting the code, councillors would only have to declare the membership of a masonic lodge if it were a body that has "charitable purposes" - but a proposal was put forward suggesting an amendment that would mean membership of any masonic organisation should be declared by members.
