ELAINE Fieldhouse has been elected as the new mayor of Ledbury at a heated, factional full town council meeting where there were calls for Ledbury to have no mayor at all.

The election of Cllr Fieldhouse follows the recent resignation of the newly-elected mayor, Cllr Martin Eager; and it also follows a recent parish meeting where there was a proposal from former town councillor, Richard Hadley, that Ledbury should have no mayor this year and that a chairman of the council should be elected instead.

This was supported by thirty votes to 11 at the parish meeting of May 31, in the Market Theatre.

But at the full town council meeting of Thursday, June 8, at Ledbury Methodist Church, town clerk Karen Mitchell said: "The town council can legally disregard any resolution made at the parish meeting."

And Cllr Matthew Eakin (Lib Dem) said the parish meeting had been partisan.

He said: "Every resolution was a result of transparently partisan actions by one party."

Andrew Warmington, a town councillor and the It's Our County county councillor for the Ledbury West ward said: "A very public meeting has stated we should not have a mayor for this year. There is nothing to say we have to have a mayor."

With calls for this proposal to be debated before the election of a new mayor, town clerk Karen Mitchell: "The election of the chairman has to be the first item on the agenda, by law. Without a chairman, we are not properly constituted."

In Ledbury, the chairman is also the mayor of the town, elected annually.

There was a shout of "Call this democracy?" from a member of the public.

Cllr Eakin, referring the number of people who attended the parish meeting, said: "Forty five people at a meeting is not democracy."

Former Ledbury retailer, Yvonne White, had strong words about the prospect of Ledbury having no major.

She said: "The whole town is being brought into disrepute. A very small minority of residents may stop this town having a major. That is unacceptable."

But there were a number of protests from the public seats, and some cries of support, when she pointed the finger of blame for the situation at fomer town councillor, Richard Hadley, Cllr Liz Harvey, Cllr Andrew Harrison, and their supporters.

Mrs White said: "Mr Hadley, Cllr Harvey, Cllr Harrison and their clan have turned this town into a backbiting, bullying misery and I say, enough is enough. We've had five years of this. It's got to stop."

When the election of the mayor got underway, Cllr Nick Morris nominated himself as a candidate, and said: "I'm honest, fair and a good listener, and that's what the chairman needs to be."

Cllr Andrew Harrison nominated Cllr Nina Shields. Cllr Shields said she recognised she was "very new to the council" but she she had skills in team building and conflict resolution to offer the council.

Cllr Fieldhouse, who was nominated by Cllr Annette Crowe, said she was used to speaking at meetings "and organising things". She was also Ledbury's deputy mayor for 2016/2017.

Cllr Fieldhouse was elected with 9 votes, against two for Cllr Morris and four for Cllr Shields.

In the section of the meeting allowed for public participation, Richard Hadley said there had been a secret meeting at the council offices the night before, when Cllr Fieldhouse's nomination was discussed; and he said there was "a perception of a stitch-up behind the scenes."

Cllr Fieldhouse said there had been a Neighbourhood Plan meeting, but she did not discuss standing for the position of mayor.

Mr Hadley said: "Yes you did. It was overheard you did."

Cllr Fieldhouse said: "It was a Neighbourhood Plan Meeting. There was no time for anything else. I don't work like that. I am very straightforward."