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Ex-council leader David Parsons may be suspended from Leicestershire Conservative group

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Thursday, September 27, 2012
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Leicester Mercury

Former county council leader David Parsons could be suspended from the Leicestershire Conservative group for six months if an investigation finds he broke party rules.

The Tory politician was censured for breaking Leicestershire County Council's members' code of conduct in June over his European Travel expenses.

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    Former Leicestershire County Council leader David Parsons

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    New leader Nick Rushton

Yesterday, his successor as county council leader, Nick Rushton, revealed he had launched an internal investigation into the matter.

Coun Rushton has instructed the party's chief whip, Councillor Tony Gillard, and his deputies Jackie Dickinson and Bill Liquorish, to look at all the evidence surrounding the case and judge whether party rules have also been breached. Opposition Liberal Democrats said the move comes "months too late" given Coun Parsons' censure in June for not promptly repaying cash he owed to the county council which he claimed for European business trips.

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They said other Tories called before standards committees had been quickly suspended in the past.

Coun Rushton said: "I won't take criticism from the Liberal Democrats on how we should deal with internal discipline.

"David Parsons has gone from being one of the top local politicians in the country to a backbencher in a month and that has happened under a cloud. That is a punishment in itself.

"He gave us a number of very good years as leader, so you may say it is cutting him slack.

"If the three man panel finds he has breached party rules then there is the sanction of a three-month or six-month suspension.

"That could have very serious consequences for him because someone who is suspended cannot be selected to stand in an election and we have an election coming up in May."

Coun Rushton conceded Tory party rules were similar to the members' code of conduct Coun Parsons had already been found to have breached, but he said the internal investigation was still needed.

He restated the need for the council to rebuild the reputation that had been damaged by the expenses case.

Liberal Democrat group leader Coun Simon Galton said: "I can't see how they can find he hasn't breached party rules.

"In our opinion, he should have been suspended long ago when the standards committee found against him.

"Everyone would agree, for the benefit of the council's reputation, a line needs to be drawn under this but it is dragging on and on.

"I have been at the Lib Dem conference this week and lots of people from all over the country have been saying 'Leicestershire? That's the place with the leader and the expenses'.

"It's not what we want to be known for.

"If David Parsons is suspended it could be the end of his political career in Leicestershire."

Coun Parsons will be asked to appear before the panel which is to report back to Coun Rushton at the end of October.

Coun Parsons told the Mercury it was not appropriate for him to comment on the matter.

He is facing a continuing police inquiry into his expenses, as well as a separate standards investigation into his use of the council's civic car during his time as leader.

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  • Profile image for Eastonian

    by Eastonian

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 12:09PM

    “Just a typo as you know full well, Bob. Goodbye.”

  • Profile image for Bob491

    by Bob491

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 12:04PM

    “Quote: "It goes without saying I meant to say, in my last sentence, "NOT standing idy by"."


    It goes without saying that you do not know what you are talking about!

    ps what is standing idy by?”

  • Profile image for Bob491

    by Bob491

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 12:01PM

    “Eastonian, stop regurgitating dishonest Con propaganda.

    It was the greedyguts bankers, many of them friends and party donors of the Cons, that racked up the debts.

    It is the greedyguts unpatriotic wealthy tax avoiders, many of them friends and party donors of the Cons, that force the continuation of the debts by not paying £billions in tax to the UK as they should.

    The incompetent Con government is racking up even more debts because they will only use the failed plan A - and as every knows, severe austerity only makes matters much worse. That is why the Con government deficit in August 2012 was the highest on record. They need to increase growth in the economy by investing in green energy projects, low cost housing and school buildings, but they won't.

    However we do need much greater regulation of banks and private industry so that ordinary people are not ripped off so easily.

    As for bitter pills, why is it that under the Cons only the unrich are forced to swallow these, while the wealthy are rewarded with honey coated tax cuts?”

  • Profile image for Eastonian

    by Eastonian

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 11:44AM

    “It goes without saying I meant to say, in my last sentence, "NOT standing idy by".”

  • Profile image for Eastonian

    by Eastonian

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 11:42AM

    “Bob, get real and espousing twaddle. We all know, except the likes of you Labour luvvies the inherited deficit of this Coalition Government was the greatest in our peace time history.

    When will you and your ilk face up to the facts?!!

    At least the Coalition are attempting to rectify the situation with regard to the deficit, our economy and the reigning-in of bank and financial institutions. Of course, in all of this there are bitter pills to swallow and if you weren't aware of it there are even more to be swallowed before we see the end of it. The Coalition are standing idly by doing nothing as the previous Government did but there again you won't want to be reminded of that either.”

  • Profile image for Bob491

    by Bob491

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 11:06AM

    “Eastonian, you should really learn the facts before writing such nonsense.

    Government spending under Labour was always less than that in the mid 1990s under the Con PM Major, until the greedyguts bankers, many friends and party donors of the Cons, almost destroyed the world's finances. In fact for several years under Blair, the country was in surplus.

    In 2006, the Cons promised to continue the spending plans of Labour if they won the election in 2007, so your 'disastrous' and 'spend, spend, spend' is wildly inaccurate and fanciful.

    Spending necessarily and rapidly increased to save the banks from going out of business, and to help bring the country out of the crisis. This was unavoidable unless you believe people's lifetime savings should have been tossed away through failure of the banking system.

    As for regulating the banks, the Cons have always been enthusiastic supporters of almost no regulation on banking and other businesses. I do not agree with them. There are far too many examples of private businesses greedily profiteering to allow deregulation. We need much much more regulation as no doubt you will agree.

    And now, as I said, the debts are being pushed up even further by an inexperienced, unimaginative Con boy Chancellor who can't cope with more than plan A, considerably helped by the widespread £billion tax evasion of his wealthy friends and supporters.”

  • Profile image for Eastonian

    by Eastonian

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 10:27AM

    “Oh, come on Bob, are you really telling me and the rest of us that the New Labour Government that was in power for a disastrous 13 long years who adopted a 'Spend, Spend, Spend' attitude and did absolutely nothing to address what the banking and financial institutions were doing are completely and utterly blameless.

    When in power you have a responsibility and if that entails making and passing new laws so be it. Oh, of course they did, didn't they consuming an ordinate amount of parliamentary time saving the wretched fox. Sorry, I almost forgot!!”

  • Profile image for Bob491

    by Bob491

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 10:18AM

    “Eastonian, you know perfectly well that the debts were racked up by greedyguts bankers and financiers all over the world, many of them friends and party donors of the Cons.

    And now the debts are being pushed up even further by an inexperienced, unimaginative Con boy Chancellor who can't cope with more than plan A, considerably helped by the widespread £billion tax evasion of his wealthy friends and supporters.”

  • Profile image for Eastonian

    by Eastonian

    Saturday, September 29 2012, 7:47AM

    “I quite agree, Don, but who in their right mind would vote for him if he did?!!

    And just to even things up slightly as you wish to make party politics out of it you could ask why is Labour still hanging on to the likes of Miliband, Balls and others when they were all there in power racking up the huge deficit we're all paying for and will be for years to come.”

  • Profile image for moonage

    by moonage

    Friday, September 28 2012, 9:42PM

    “Just for being a Tory he should be suspended from the front of the Conservative HQ building. 6 months be long enough?? A chance to throw a few rotten Apples at a big one..”

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