Open letter to Chairmen of Town Assembly

Dear Chairmen,

I came away from last Monday's Town Assembly disgusted, disappointed and embarrassed that my town should be represented in such a low-order way.

To my mind, to have been elected means to serve; not just those that voted for you but the entire community you represent. Accountability and responsibility start with the election, not end there and remain in abeyance until the next election. And accountability means being responsible for your behaviour as well as your actions to the entire electorate, especially minorities and those who may disagree with you.

What we experienced on Monday night was a total lack of both accountability and responsibility on the part of some of those elected to represent our town. The rowdy, almost bullying, behaviour that I experienced, I believe, reduces the reputation of the town into something approaching 'mob rule' bringing shame and disrepute onto the entire community.

Anybody who showed any concern with some of the councillors were promptly shouted down and drowned out. And here's the key point - nobody asked for it to stop. In fact, it appeared to me that some of the councillors near me were heavily involved with the heckling; encouraging it even.

To my mind, this is not about whether our representatives do good work or not. Good work should be a given in all those who serve. It is about the conduct and behaviour they display as our representatives and Monday's event showed me nothing but bad conduct, bad behaviour, and nobody showed any responsibility for bringing it under control.

One way of holding our representatives to account is to stand for office against them. Another, no less important way, is for ALL of us to hold our representatives fully accountable for their behaviour. It is our responsibility to ensure that they are doing their work as town representatives responsibly otherwise we will see the sort of disruption that the town has experienced over recent months not just last Monday. Yet another way of being responsible for holding our representatives to account is to register with the 'Reform Association' at http://tfaforms.com/144040

As a registered elector, I would like a response from the joint Chairmen of Monday's meeting on why you did not demand a stop to the disorderly behaviour. Until I receive a convincing response, I shall continue to believe that you either condone such behaviour or you were too intimidated to demand it to stop; as many of us were.

Secondly, I would like a similar response from the Chairman of the JPC. While he may not have been chairing the meeting itself, I believe he could have made a significant impact in bringing better order and decorum to the meeting. He made no such move. Once again, until I receive an explanation I shall continue to hold the view that he is more concerned for his personal reputation amongst his supporters than he is in promoting the good name of Henley-in-Arden.

I urge every resident to hold our councillors responsible and accountable for their behaviour as well as their actions. Otherwise we must expect what we get.

As registered electors it is our town - not theirs. Let's play our part too.

Bob Ayling - High Street Resident