Existing chair of the parish council was not re-elected in the elections - consequences ?

Question

After the local parish council elections the existing chair was not re-elected. I understand however that both he & the vice chair officially hold their posts until the new chair & vice-chair are elected. However, the chair declined to chair the AGM following the elections so the existing vice chair chaired the meeting.

2 nominations were put forward for the new chair & it was a tied vote. The existing vice chair then used her casting vote as chair of the meeting to elect one of them.

Was the vice chair entitled to have a casting vote?

I believe the existing chair attended the meeting as a member of the public. If he was at the meeting was he obliged to chair the meeting up to the point a new chair was elected ?

Answer 1

It depends on an uncertainty and on a point that you don't mention.

Although the statute states unequivocally that the chairman must preside if present, it is unclear whether the proceedings are invalidated if the chairman refuses to do so. For a meeting to be validly constituted, someone must preside, and that condition was fulfilled by the vice chair.

The other point hinges on whether the vice chair was elected or not. Although you are correct in saying that chair and vice chair remain in office irrespective of whether elected, if not elected they do not have a vote in the appointment of the new chair, only a casting vote if there is a tie.

It would seem unreasonable to allow the refusal of the former chair to invalidate the proceedings, since it is not possible to deny the right to attend as a member of the public and it is impractical to force someone to preside if they do not wish to do so. But if you want further reassurance, I suggest you could put the point to the senior legal officer at your district (or other principal authority) council.