Going Halves as Council Cleaved over Experience

There have been so many co-optees on the town council that we're starting to lose track.

Now we discover that there's a further vacancy, with the resignation of former mayor Ian Lewney. His was an unusual mayoral year, thanks to that parking incident. He overcame this. He previously stood for the county council during the 2017 local election when he polled 247 votes and came eighth. Lewney blames pressure of work for leaving the town council. This is understandable given the fairly physical nature of his job. 

But he's a long-serving councillor and at the moment experience matters: there are a significant proportion of newbies. His resignation will result in seven of the 15-strong town council alone having joining since May 2022 as co-opted. A further two were fresh at the time of the new May 2022 council. The town council needs to guard against a reputation of, basically, throw-away councillors. 

Residents have till August 23rd to decide whether there will be an election to fill Lewney's seat or whether the town council will again co-opt.