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I found this article about Steven Woolfe of interest and can only assume it is the Steven Woolfe UKIP leadership have positioned on their anti democratic selection list as candidate for London – presumably a drinking buddy of the self serving and dishonest, self serving, unprofessional chavs who lead UKIP – from one disaster to another!
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Ex-councillor fails to return laptop and £200
Feb 21 2008 by Owen R Hughes, North Wales Weekly News
A SACKED councillor who claimed thousands of pounds in allowances despite not attending a meeting for six months has still not returned his laptop to the council.
Tory Steven Woolfe, 39, was kicked off Conwy County Council in September 2007 after failing to attend a single meeting since March. He had claimed around £20,000 in allowances over 18 months after winning a by-election in Colwyn Bay’s Rhiw ward in March 2006.
Now the council has revealed that his laptop, which are presented to all members, remains outstanding, along with £200 he owes the council.
Conwy County Council told the Weekly News that arrangements had been made for the return of the Hi-Grade Notino AS1400 laptop, but then admitted it had no contact number for the ex-councillor, who is thought to have left the area.
LibDem Cllr Trevor Stott, who was elected to replace Mr Woolfe last November, said: “People are concerned about whether the money paid to Mr Woolfe has been repaid and also whether council property has been returned.
“It was tax payers’ money he was paid and they want to know if he has paid any back. I would be interested to know if he will return the laptop as well.”
The Weekly News was told the allowance paid to Mr Woolfe while he was a councillor could not be claimed back and that he had made no voluntary repayments.
But a spokesman added: “Arrangements have been made for the return of a laptop and we are in the process of recovering a small amount, less than £200, that is due to the authority.”
Plaid Cllr Phil Edwards said: “The council should be taking all steps necessary to recover a laptop from any councillor who is no longer a member.
“These are expensive pieces of equipment and even more costly than a standard laptop due to the fact they have additional security software installed. If he still has a laptop it means someone else on the council is missing out.
“I also believe Mr Woolfe should pay back the allowance he claimed after March 2007 when he clearly decided he would no longer attend meetings. If he will not pay back that money then the Conservative party should make up the shortfall.”
Manchester-born Mr Woolfe pledged to help transform the Bay when elected in 2006, claiming the town was perceived as dirty and unsafe. He was made a member of the council’s audit committee as well as the environmental and community wellbeing scrutiny committees.
But between March 23 and September 23 2007 he failed to attend a single meeting, which resulted in him automatically forfeiting the seat.
Cllr Keith Toy, leader of the local Conservatives, said the Woolfe affair was a “sad history” and that council procedures needed to be tightened to ensure it would never happen again.
“The party tried to take action at the time, but the real fault lies in a system which says councillors only need to attend two meetings over a six month period to receive their allowance,” he said. “I’d much prefer we go back to the system where members are given an allowance based on the hours and work they put in.”
A council spokesman confirmed the laptop had been purchased in 2002, and the warranty expired in 2005: “It will cost us money to decommission it but it’s council property, therefore we require that it is returned,” she said.
Greg_L-W.
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