Party leaders and other leading figures debate and manoeuvre among themselves as to how things are done but always close ranks if there is any danger of the murky corridors of Brockington being exposed to fresh air and daylight'.

THE Herefordshire councillor who claims one of the biggest mandates in the county has quit her party citing what she slammed as the "political drift, administrative incompetence and a culture of secrecy which pollutes Herefordshire politics".

Councillor Marcelle Lloyd-Hayes is leaving the Liberal Democrats to go it alone after fellow opposition councillors - many of them long-time colleagues - failed to back her bid for a no confidence vote in the council over its IT scandal.

The no confidence proposal failed to find a seconder and was left to fizzle out when members met to debate the scandal last Friday.

Coun Lloyd-Hayes is fed up with her party's "feeble" opposition and says she will represent her Tupsley ward as a true independent not aligned to any political group and their "cosy status quo".

Coun Lloyd-Hayes - a councillor for 12 years and a paid-up Lib Dem for 14 years - said: "Party leaders and other leading figures debate and manoeuvre among themselves as to how things are done but always close ranks if there is any danger of the murky corridors of Brockington being exposed to fresh air and daylight."

A county and council that now, more than ever, needed exciting and visionary opposition got "political drift, administrative incompetence, and a culture of secrecy which pollutes Herefordshire politics".

There were groans across the council chamber when Coun Lloyd-Hayes - who won Tupsley with a 301 majority, one of the biggest in the county, in May - introduced the no confidence motion. The proposal never made it to a show of hands, nor was a seconder invited.

Council leader councillor Roger Phillips and his deputy, Councillor June French, survived unscathed.

The meeting was dominated by the future for council staff caught up in the scandal while still trying to get their jobs done.

Members voted overwhelmingly for the top-down change in the council's management and political culture recommended by the Crookall Report that found serious failings with the way its specialist Information Communications Technology and Customer Services (ICTCS) division worked - and starkly outlined the wider implication of those failings.

Crookall exposed the "fractured and dysfunctional" relationships between senior managers that kept cabinet-level councillors from vital details about the full cost of two key IT contracts, together worth millions of pounds.

This lack of detail was not challenged by councillors and both contracts were awarded against the council's rules, the report revealed.

Author of the report Ian Crookall, appointed by the Local Government Association to investigate ICTCS, told members there was now little value in "raking over coals" without any sense of where it was leading to.

The council, said Mr Crookall, had been toppled from what high ground it held in terms of reputation, but needed to stay on course as it steered toward the pioneering Public Service Trust project, which could dictate the future direction for local government as a whole.

(Extracts from councillor's resignation letter).

Chaotic local elections.

Like many of the public I am concerned that the weak and inept leadership of the council has led to a catalogue of errors. Earlier this year we had the multiple chaos of the local elections presided over by the chief executive and head of legal and democratic services. Neither have produced a meaningful explanation for an appalling range of errors.

Shoddy and secretive processes Leaving aside the choice about whether to cover the 4,000 year old Rotherwas Ribbon with concrete, the importance of the find and the choices it presented were not properly reported, even to elected members. There are still major questions unanswered and support from the public for the preservation of the Ribbon has not diminished. The process of scrutiny which followed was nothing short of a farce. This continues to damage the reputation of councillors and Herefordshire's reputation nationally.

Low staff morale Morale among staff is at an all time low and many feel disillusioned when they see highly paid directors ignoring procedures without any questions by the relevant cabinet member or her cabinet colleagues.

ICT scandal Careful reading of the Crookall Report confirms the concerns regarding lack of meaningful reports and costings. I find it extraordinary Mr Crookall's terms of reference were so narrow and, although he has produced a substantial number of useful recommendations, the implementation of these depends effectively on the head of legal and democratic dervices. This officer has, to put it into the most charitable terms, failed to intervene as the council descended into its present condition. I agree with Mr Crookall the scrutiny process is seriously deficient. Many of the hardworking staff have felt demoralized and some have felt intimidated when trying to bring problems in ICT to the management. Several councillors share the view that much else may have come to light if members insisted on a wider review and robust scrutiny.

I invite Councillor June French to do the decent thing and resign from her cabinet post. Spending public money without the necessary checks and balances has led to the council being described by Mr Crookhall as dysfunctional and fractured. I am in complete agreement with him but we will have much of the same if nobody is held to account.

Failure to challenge There have been no resignations from cabinet or the member most responsible for the present mess. None of the opposition party groups were even prepared to support the proposal for a vote of no confidence in the council.

New members/ideas squashed Party leaders and other leading figures debate and manoeuvre among themselves as to the detail of how things are done but always close ranks if there is any danger of the murky corridors of Brockington being exposed to fresh air and daylight.

I know there are hard working and principled councillors in all the party groups. Some express concerns to each other, but it appears in each case the leaderships of these groups seem to be more supportive of each other and protective of inappropriate conduct by senior officers than they are of listening to the voices in their own groups expressing concern on their own behalf or more importantly, the public.

I cannot continue to waste my time in a political group that is missing so many opportunities to challenge this inept administration. Recently elected members are disillusioned at the lack of influence they have and the inability to carry out their electoral promises due to toeing the party line. These members need courage if they want to be part of the solution not the problem.

We are saddled with a cabinet system that does not work - too much power in too few hands. The "system" needs elected members to find ways to work within this imposed political structure for the benefit of the county and those that live here. I have for some months seen party politics obstructing this process and am no longer willing to take part in it.

Resigning from my party Since the election in May, 2007, I have struggled because I feel we have failed the public in our duty. Enough is enough - I am not prepared to allow the Tory administration to bring this council to its knees without a fight.

It is not easy being a lone voice but I am encouraged by a small but increasing number of other councillors who are willing to challenge the political drift, administrative incompetence, and culture of secrecy which pollutes Herefordshire politics.

This has played its part in the massive apathy the population now feels towards local government here. Without an effective opposition the public is frustrated, powerless and unrepresented. The purpose of opposition and political accountability was completely undermined at the extraordinary meeting last Friday.

The Crookall Report and the ICT scandal provided an opportune moment to challenge this inept executive and their departure from procedures. Yet the LibDems fluffed this challenge. Apart from a few challenging questions thanks to councillors Dawe, Hubbard, Toon and myself, there was little scrutiny. I had no support for my proposal for a vote of no confidence from my own leader, which would have made all the difference. This allowed this serious report to receive scant attention. They have allowed the Tory Administration to sweep it under the carpet.

The Liberal Democrats are failing to provide the dynamic and visionary opposition the county needs during the current Tory scandals and incompetence and that is why my efforts are best focused outside the dwindling local party.

Councillor Marcelle Lloyd-Hayes, Herefordshire Council.