Minutes of the inaugural meeting of the South East Cornwall Branch of Reform UK
Held at the Public Buildings, Liskeard on the 31st October, 2024.
The meeting opened at 7.05pm
In attendance: Paul Wadley, Rob Parsonage, Helen Trethewey, Curt Mellows, Angie Fisher, Graham Stapleton, Linda Lambert, Steven Leeming, Roger Fussell, Gillian Fussell, Jim Gale, Jonathan Kilner, Robbie Newland, Mel Smith, June Richardson, Andrew Earls, Chris Smith,
Freddie Southcott, Phil Ford, Peter Slater, Julia Darby, Craig Dabbs, Michael Dabbs, Andrew Hill, Mary Corin, Kevin Johnson, Steve Pike, Nick Hawken
Apologies: Louisa Hawken, Alan and Carol Temple, Andrew Poad, Zoe and Andrew Jackson, Martin Sands, Dr. Brian Needham, Keith Johnson, Sam Ridsill, Chris Hawken
Election of Interim Committee Officers:
Paul Wadley, as recent prospective parliamentary candidate, has been appointed, by Head Office, as the Interim Chair of the branch and has been tasked with forming an Interim Committee which will remain in place until the Party Constitution has been finalised, whereupon another election will take place to elect a permanent Committee.
Before the process had begun a point of order was raised, by Kevin Johnson MBE, indicating that the correct process would have been to elect the Vice Chair, who would then take control of the meeting while a Chair was elected. The newly elected Chair would then resume control of the meeting. It was pointed out that the Chair had been selected by Head Office and there was no election for that position. Mr. Johnson felt that this was undemocratic.
The election of Committee members resumed. Each candidate had submitted a CV to the Interim Chair. These were then read to the floor and five minutes were allotted for the floor to put questions to the candidate.
The Chair explained that there was only one applicant for each position, there would be no necessity for the candidate to leave the room during the vote. Mr. Johnson raised a point of order asserting that this was not the case because he had submitted a CV and intended to stand for one or more positions during the meeting. The Chair pointed out that there had been a clear process of requiring a CV to be submitted and a deadline given. Mr Johnson said that he had submitted a CV but had withdrawn it when the Chair had informed him that it was not fit for purpose. The Chair pointed out that he had allowed time for a more concise CV to be submitted but this was not forthcoming and the deadline expired. Mr Johnson did not accept that this was a legitimate process, and that he had instead decided to apply for office during the meeting. Unprompted, several members of the floor confirmed that they had also received notification of the process, that it was clear and the other candidates had followed it to the letter.
The meeting resumed, CVs were read, candidates spoke and answered questions from the floor and the membership duly voted.
Curt Mellows was elected as Vice Chair with 24 votes.
Proposed: Andrew Hill Seconded: Fred Davies No objections, no abstentions.
Nick Hawken was elected as Secretary with 24 votes.
Proposed: Mary Corin Seconded: Jon Kilner No objections, no abstentions.
Mary Corin was elected as Campaign Manager with 23 votes
Proposed: Steve Pike Seconded: Jon Kilner No objections, no abstentions.
Louisa Hawken had applied for the position of Treasurer but was unable to attend and so her application was held over until the next business meeting.
The Chair then asked Rob Parsonage, in his role as Cornwall Coordinator, to talk about the council elections, both town and county and the general process. He appealed for help from the floor for any information on seats coming up for re-election and that might be filled by a Reform UK member, from parish councils upwards, Party visibility being very important. Rob mentioned the Tamar bridge and ferry public meeting which he attended. Unlike the other main parties whose contributions were largely negative, it was noted by the organisers that Reform was the only group that asked respectful and meaningful questions, and suggested practical solutions.
An appeal was made for help on the check-ins for the Exeter meeting and it was regretted that there was insufficient take up to make a coach viable and individual car sharing was advised.
Regarding councillor selection, the process is that applicants are vetted for suitability by Head Office, but it is the branch committees that will make the final selections. We are reliant on HO finalising the process, but it is a small team the moment and it will improve as funds come in and more staff can be allocated. IT is currently an issue and they are working on that to the best of their ability.
Mary Corin pointed out that, despite the short period of six weeks after the election was announced, Reform UK made a massive effort and were 2nd in 97 constituencies – how easy it should be to turn those over after years of this Labour government. The upcoming by election in Cheshire should be winnable after the recent punitive budget.
A member from the floor asked how we will connect with people who are unhappy with or unfamiliar with IT, which is something that we will consider at future business meetings.
The Chair talked a little more about possible councillors defecting to Reform UK and the expenses of a leaflet campaign being in the region of £1000.
A member from the floor raised the issue of defecting Conservative councillors bringing their Tory ethos into our party which would be most unwelcome. Rob reiterated that the vetting and interview process, for people wishing to defect, is rigorous.
The meeting closed at 8.28pm. The next meeting will be held at the same place on November 28th 7.00pm.
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