Can members of the same family vote to put each other in to positions like leader

Question

We have 3 family members as sitting councillors mum, son and his wife, can they vote for one of them to become the leader or would it be deemed a conflict of interest?

Answer 1

The councillors must have declared their interests (including family) in their registration. The matter of who or whether they are allowed to vote en block for each other because of their relationship is more a matter of integrity than statute as councillors must vote based solely on evidence provided. It would be very difficult to prove such a relationship any more than one councillor convincing another of the merits in voting in a particular way.

If these councillors followed their code of conduct they would abstain from voting thus avoiding accusations of nepotism rather than judgement of ability. The requirements on moral behaviour of councillors is enshrined in the Nolan principals and any councillor who does not follow them should attract criticism.

Comments

Interesting. We have a Mother, Father and Son on our Parish Council.  The Father was voted in as Vice Chair by one vote, including his own, his wife’s and Son’s.  Interestingly at the local elections, the father went for nomination in another ward, rather than his own.  They also heavily influence at least two other members of the Council in the decision process.