Councillor who owes £4k in council tax resigns

A Lancashire councillor has resigned after it was revealed he owed almost £4,000 in council tax and had missed dozens of meetings.

Tom Ormerod was Conservative councillor for Colne's Vivary Bridge ward until his resignation, which was announced on Thursday by Pendle Borough Council in an email to other councillors.

Earlier this week it was revealed Ormerod owed £3,835 in unpaid council tax to across three years. He had also attended just three council meetings since being elected in May 2023.

The council confirmed the resignation earlier.

Lib Dem councillor David Whipp had earlier called on Ormerod to stand down.

He said he had missed 27 council meetings and also asked why the Conservative Party had chosen him as a candidate "who was £1,700 in arrears at the time of his election".

On Thursday Paul Preston, the council's democratic services manager, sent an email to councillors seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It said Ormerod has resigned "with immediate effect".

Both Ormerod and Pendle Council's Conservative group have been contacted for comment but have not responded.

The Vivary Bridge ward in Colne already has one by-election due following the resignation of another Pendle Conservative councillor – Kieran McGladdery – after he claimed his group failed to back stronger taxi safety measures at a council meeting in December.

A second by-election is expected but a date is yet to be confirmed.

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