Melksham & Devizes Conservatives released a statement on the 7th April explaining an internal audit revealed one of their candidates was “not qualified by residence as they believed they were,” and claimed it was a “genuine mistake.” Devizes residents have gathered on social media to express their concerns that electoral law has been broken and the affair is quietly being pushed under the carpet….
Conservative candidate Sarah Batchelor moved to the area in July last year, to take over as management of the Crown Inn in Bishops Cannings and therefore has not been resident in the area or on the electoral roll for the legal minimum requirement of twelve months to apply for a councillor role. Melksham & Devizes Conservatives said in their statement they have informed the Electoral Registration Officer and the candidate will “take no part in the campaign process nor take up their seat if elected.”
But residents are angered by both the belief this was not a genuine mistake as claimed, is an incident in which media attention is deliberately being avoided, and hypocritical when Melksham & Devizes Conservatives caused a major outcry at a local by-election, when a Devizes Guardian candidate accidentally breached election law. Another sour point was that the Melksham & Devizes Conservatives make no attempt to apologise for the mistake and any potential cost to the taxpayer if a reelection is necessary in the process which will follow. “You’d thought they’d have learnt after the PCC debacle a few years back,” the original poster stated, “is this what you want from local councillors?”
“The qualifications and rules are clearly stated on the form, and an individual knows if they meet them or not,” one resident pointed out on the Facebook group, Devizes Issue (But Better,) where the debate is causing a storm. “If the individual completed the forms,” they continued, “they have falsified an application. If someone else completed them on their behalf – they have not carried out due diligence or have ignored the clear rules. So which is it?”
The group were informed by former Labour councillor Noel Woolrych that “this is actually a police matter and is in their hands. However, I least believe that the name will still appear on the ballot paper as they had already been printed.” This raises the issue if she will be replaced, and as another commenter stated, “even though the election will still go ahead and the Conservatives have distanced themselves from the candidate, her presence on the ballot could still influence the outcome. Votes cast for her could impact the overall vote share and potentially alter the result, even if she’s not officially endorsed. That in itself raises concerns about fairness and electoral integrity.”
A reliable source informed us these forms will have been checked prior to submission by Conservative Wiltshire Councillor Iain Wallis, who also controversially runs another Facebook group, Devizes Issues. It is a fact that this councillor is head of promoting all Conservative candidates for Devizes South. Sensitive enough to question the overall honesty of the Melksham & Devizes Conservatives it appears then, that the issue here has been deliberately avoided on said group, and elsewhere by Melksham & Devizes Conservatives, despite Councillor Wallis creating his own storm in a teacup at a by-election last year when a Devizes East Guardian candidate made a minor omission on a leaflet, falsely claiming the candidate had been arrested.
“I see it as fraud on both parties,” another resident said, “First party being the person who completed the forms and stated in the declaration that they are correct knowing they are false. Second, the political party who vetted the form knowingly didn’t complete the due diligence process to ensure that their candidate was lawful and correct.”
Again, we suspect the desperate local Conservatives are playing dirty for this local election, as they do for national politics, yet clearly claiming on their social media posts they are “local people with the community as our focus, with no central party control and our focus is not on national politics,” to divide themselves with the downfall nationally of their party. Yet, we discover them clearly using national party funds to campaign, and boy, they certainly are influenced by their national party tactics!
On a banner produced by the Devizes Conservatives it is claimed what makes candidate Iain Wallis “stand out” is that he “believes that every resident should feel their voice is heard.” Shamefully laughable considering this debate has to appear on groups he does not administrate and will no doubt be excluded from his own popular Facebook group. A group which has seen opposition candidates, councillors, support groups, upstanding citizens and charity organisations, and anyone who dares to challenge his opinion with a differing one be rewarded with lifetime bans.
We also find ourselves in said club of “disregarded dissidents,” for stating the facts, are proud to say it has been this way for a long time, and consider it a badge of honour!
Although, I strongly suspect, as it has been in past times when we have been caused to be critical of Devizes Conservatives, Mr Wallis will bleat like a hurt lamb, hold up a victim card, claiming all manner of falsehoods that we are attacking him personally. This simply isn’t true, and never has been. We only intend to highlight scoops that, for some strange reason, no one else is willing to risk their backhanders or potential advertising revenue to cover with the clarity needed to expose fraudulent candidates, which this is clearly as a case of. Is it my fault the same name appears to crop up each time? A case I rest there.
As the original post creator asked the group, “is this what you want from local councillors?”
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