Calls for Sunderland councillor to resign over bus stop letter

Stephen O’Brien, a member of Sunderland City Council’s opposition Liberal Democrat group, was accused of the breach more than two years ago.

Since the decision of the local authority’s standards watchdog was published on July 6, he has also refused to apologise or pay ‘recompense’ to the council, prompting demands for him to stand down.

Graeme Miller, the leader of the Labour-controlled council, said Coun O’Brien should do the ‘right and honourable thing’ and ‘resign with immediate effect’.”

He added: “Questions must now be asked of the Lib Dems – a party quick to complain, but slow to act when it comes to dealing with their own.”

The accusations against Coun O’Brien, which were also upheld in an appeal independently investigated by Gateshead Council, related to letters sent by him to families in his Sandhill ward using council stationary and postage facilities.

This included details of a planned bus stop in Grindon; Aldi supermarket at the former Dewhirst site and pothole repairs, but Michael Mordey, the deputy leader of the council, complained it had been an ‘unsolicited party political newsletter’.

And the city council’s Standards Committee agreed, concluding ‘there could be no doubt that the letter was designed to confer political credit’.

Labour was also joined by the city’s largest opposition group, the Conservatives, in calling for Coun O’Brien to go and demanding the Liberal Democrats ‘hold themselves to the same standard they hold others to’.

On June 23 had said new Conservative group leader Antony Mullen should resign over comments he made on social media prior to being elected a city councillor.

Coun O’Brien has refused to apologise and insists he ‘didn’t do anything wrong’, claiming the letter had been sent for information purposes, not political campaigning.

He added he intends to continue as councillor for Sandhill for ‘many years to come’ and that, on the request for recompense, he had not been told how much he was expected to repay.

He did not wish to add further comment after the Labour and Conservative calls for him to resign.

But according to Coun Peter Gibson, the longest continually-serving member of the city council and chairman of the standards committee, the repayment was intended as a ‘symbolic gesture’ as the panel had been unable to establish exactly how many letters Coun O’Brien had sent beyond an estimate of 100 – 200.

He said: “He could have paid any amount, as long as he offered to pay something back to the council – that would have been acceptable.

“We didn’t set an amount, we just said if he offered to pay some recompense to the council that would have satisfied the committee.”

Coun O’Brien was also accused of the breach alongside former councillor Lynn Appleby.

Coun Appleby was elected as a Liberal Democrat candidate in Coun O’Brien’s Sandhill ward in 2018, but following polling day sat ‘without party badge’ after being accused of sharing offensive social media posts.

She later quit the council ahead of the 2019 round of local elections, where her seat was retained by the Liberal Democrats, who stood a new candidate in her place, Margaret Crosby.

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