Rotten Boroughs Awards 2024
Local zeroes, Issue 1640

NUNN TOO SHABBY: Jonathan Nunn remains a councillor despite his history of domestic violence

SHIT OF THE YEAR
The runaway winner (although he has not run away, far from it) has to be Jonathan Nunn, Conservative leader of West Northants council until April 2024, when the Eye exposed him as a serial wife-beater with a 30-year history of domestic violence against at least five women (Eye 1621). Nunn stepped down as leader after the local BBC ran interviews with several of his victims, but retained the Tory whip until the then Northamptonshire South MP Andrea Leadsom said his position was untenable. Nunn continues to sit as an "Independent” councillor and was an honoured guest at the West Northants Tories' Christmas party, where he boasted that Northants Police (which had opened a case of "stalking and harassment” against his ex-wife Maria Botterill after she emailed councillors about his history of domestic violence, and kept the "case” against her open until October) had not bothered to interview any of his accusers, which is, shamefully, true.

LICENSING APPLICATION OF THE YEAR
Tower Hamlets Aspire party councillor Amin Rahman was accused in court of soliciting a bribe of between £80,000 and £100,000 on behalf of his mates on the licensing committee as a condition of renewing the licence of a lap-dancing club. The club's owner said he had refused to pay and sued the council. The high court ordered the council to reinstate the licence and pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation for loss of business. Elected mayor Lutfur Rahman was informed of his namesake's alleged behaviour but took no action. Inspector Knacker concluded there was "insufficient evidence for a prosecution” and a council "investigation” predictably went nowhere.

STANDING JOKE
Orkney Islands council spent half an hour debating whether councillors should stand (as has been traditional) or sit when addressing the chamber. The sitters prevailed by 11 votes to nine, despite warnings that they were on "a slippery slope”. It was agreed no one would be forced to sit if they didn't want to.

IN AND OUT AWARD
Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Lib Dem leader of Cambridgeshire county council, made substantial donations to two Lib Dem general election candidates, and was then rewarded with part-time Westminster jobs by both of them after they were elected, according to her register of interests. Quelle surprise! After our story appeared one of the new MPs, Ian Sollom, realised this wasn't a good look and declared that Cllr Nethsingha was not employed by him after all. She told the Eye she had "perhaps been premature” in declaring that part- time job. Swings and roundabouts, eh?

GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD
Cambridgeshire county council's wholly owned housebuilding dud, This Land, sold more land to developers to keep up the interest payments on its massive unaffordable loans from the council. Over three years it has only repaid £2m loan principal, leaving £113.8m outstanding. In July the council's resources committee, chaired by council leader Lucy Nethsingha (her again), agreed in closed session to lend This Land a further £6.3m. If and when This Land goes belly-up it could well take Cambs CC with it. Cllr Nethsingha might be wise to jump ship before that happens.

HIGH LIFE AWARD
It was trebles all round for Essex county council's former "head of strengthening communities”, Kirsty O'Callaghan, when she celebrated her birthday at Claridge's with several friends who had been the beneficiaries of verbal contracts totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds, many of which remained un- or only partly fulfilled. Inspector Knacker has a whistleblower's report on the affair, but the embarrassed council seems reluctant to pursue the matter.

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Next issue on sale: 22nd January 2025