A Burntwood councillor says he will not resign after his latest blunder saw him forget to attend his own advice surgery for residents.
Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd, who represents Burntwood North at Staffordshire County Council, had organised the session at Burntwood Library on Saturday morning (14th May).
Residents who turned up to seek his advice on local issues were forced to go home after the former Conservative councillor failed to turn up.
He later blamed the error on getting mixed up over the dates he was due to be holding the surgery, describing it as a “newbie mistake” – despite him having been a county councillor since May 2021 and a member of other local councils previously.
It is not the first time the councillor has been left red-faced though.
He previously had to pay back £924 of taxpayer funding in instalments after receiving the cash for a tree planting project, only for an investigation to discover he had neither planted nor purchased any trees.
Cllr Richard Cox, who represents Lichfield Rural West on the county council, has made fresh calls Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd to “do the only right thing available to him” and resign.
But the independent councillor – who quit the Conservatives after he was suspended for six months in the wake of the tree planting blunder – said he had no intention of quitting.
“The fact that I forgot my own surgery is by far the daftest thing that I have ever done, but it is not something that I will ever repeat – I’m sure I’ll add it to the list of things people take the mickey out of me for.
“I believe in engagement, even if it is attacking and would meet at any time or place any resident or council group wishes to do so.
“I am not going to resign. I’m surprised that Cllr Cox chooses to comment, but that’s his right to do so and I respect it.
“I don’t believe in engaging in personality politics and I’m not going to change that view regardless of how vicious people are about me.”
Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd, Staffordshire County Council
The councillor had previously said he would follow up his resignations from Hammerwich Parish Council and Burntwood Town Council by quitting his remunerated post at Staffordshire County Council.
But after emailing the chairman of the council to inform him of his decision to step down, he revealed that he had been “talked out” of the move by someone close to him.
Despite failing to turn up to meet a number of residents who had visited the library to speak with him, Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd insisted he was working actively for local residents.
“I have spent hours and hours of my time helping local residents in the past week, ranging from a meeting in the Trident, at a resident’s home and checking out a road for a concerned person.
“I spent the rest of my time with a charity helping addiction in Lichfield and with my friend Dwain who has just had a baby. “
Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd, Staffordshire County Council
Is he real or a cartoon character?
Seems to be attempting to justify the unjustifiable! More sides to him than the old 3 penny piece. Very sorry for his constituents who will no doubt do the right thing at next election
Rotten Borough
This guy makes me honestly believe that even I -a sentient blob of protein created in a toxic waste dump- could be a half decent Councillor.
Might have to give it a shot at the next elections…
I would class this character as a nincompoop but that is an insult to a nincompoop.
Just wondering is he receiving any expenses from the council ?
This man is just laughing at us. Our democracy is being degraded by people like him.
It shows how difficult it is to remove an elected councillor, no matter how incompetent and untrustworthy they are. Unless he resigns there are very few ways for him to lose his position, so Burntwood North is stuck with him for another 2 years.
That’s another 2 years at £800 a month allowance, not a bad little earner for being utterly useless.
I’m sure that’s a financial calculation this councillor has managed to do successfully, unlike his ability to keep track of the £924 grant he got from the county council which went missing for so long.
It never seemed likely he would do the right or decent thing and resign. Under the Local Government Act 1972 councillors can be disqualified from being a councillor due to matters in their private life, such as being subject to a bankruptcy order or receiving a custodial sentence of three months or longer (whether or not suspended). So unless the £800 a month isn’t enough to help him keep his head above water, or unless he is investigated and convicted for an offence serious enough to be jailed for 3 months or longer, he will stay.
Of course we could all construct a fantasy world where he does the right thing.
Wow, he even said he was hanging out with a friend than turn up in a meeting… what a politician (and a walking caricature), sums up pretty much almost every UK political party here.