Former county council leader hits back at claims

The former leader of West Sussex County Council Louise Goldsmith this week hit back at claims by the Chichester Conservative Association which questioned her competency and said she and another county councillor were deselected.
Former county council leader Louise GoldsmithFormer county council leader Louise Goldsmith
Former county council leader Louise Goldsmith

Mrs Goldsmith – who along with Jamie Fitzjohn – quit the Conservatives last week, said the party had become ‘sharkish and malign’.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the association made it clear that neither were selected as candidates for next May’s county council elections.

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The statement, which said her ‘competency was brought into question’, quoted an unnamed party member, who added: “Although Cllr Goldsmith, clearly served with best intentions, I know many of us felt no one could overlook her failings.

“As the then leader, she must take ownership and responsibility for her service record, which certainly was not up to the standards Conservatives expect.

“It is right the party stepped in to hold her to account.”

But Mrs Goldsmith responded: “Party politics can be dirty, based so often on egos, petty feuds and revenge, as summed up by this text message I received last week from a  councillor:

“’They were appalling – you have no idea how many are aghast at what has happened. They merely twisted the knife like you hadn’t been through enough already. You have been so loyal, worked your socks off, and as a result of certain personalities we lose a valuable member’.”

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Three major incidents in 2019 are thought to have brought about the end of Mrs Goldsmith’s time as leader.

Children’s services in West Sussex were recommended to transfer to an independent trust after a Department for Education report found there had been ‘inadequate and ineffective leadership’ from the county council.

The Fire & Rescue Service was rated ‘requires improvement’ by inspectors, with accusations raised about bullying as well as ‘significant concerns’ about public protection.

And the £190,000 per year chief executive Nathan Elvery left by mutual consent — with a substantial £265,000 financial settlement made by the subsequent administration.

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Local party chair, Jane Kilby said, “We are extremely grateful for the service of both Jamie and Louise over many years as Conservative councillors.

“Our candidates must share our core ambitions and commitment to supporting our campaigning efforts.”

But Mrs Goldsmith said: “Yes, there was a very rocky time before I stood down, that happens to most at some time, but following an earlier Peer Review, work had started improving the governance with regular public cabinet meetings.

“A thorough review of the scrutiny process was undertaken where the recommendations were put in place.

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“I appointed the new Chief Fire Officer to drive through improvements as highlighted in the Fire Inspection Report.

“Children’s Services has been weak for a long time despite many interventions and considerable investment.

“I was always worried about the service – the Ofsted report was devastating for me personally, I truly felt let down as I, the cabinet and the council had let vulnerable children down, but a new improvement team was brought in and considerable work was underway before the commissioner came in.

“What I did was put in place the improvements that were needed to be made and it is good to see them continuing.

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“I then resigned as leader, despite many pleas from many group members at the time not to – but morally it was right – perhaps others elsewhere, in Westminster, should also consider such actions.

“As for the economy, I am also proud to have been involved in the setting up of the Coast 2 Capital Local Enterprise Partnership.

“Developing the tourism offer through ‘Experience West Sussex’ and the recently opened ‘The Track’ in Bognor Regis-something I had been working on for well over two years, as well as the ‘Let’s Talk about our Towns’ initiative to start creative thinking for the future of our towns across West Sussex, not to mention the exciting plans for Horsham Enterprise Park, formerly the Novartis site.

“The Gigabyte project improving broadband connection through the county which attracted considerable government funding, and work is underway improving connectivity including rural areas.

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“The Chichester Conservative Office failed to mention the soundness and the long enduring track record of the county council’s finances and the impressive capital programme which was put in place a couple of years ago, where we have been improving and building schools across the county, investing in some much need infrastructure, and I am delighted that we have not closed one library in West Sussex.

“However we should never forget the communities made up of the people we represent, and we have some amazing communities in West Sussex.

“It is my great belief that, if you trust and help residents working together, so much can be achieved.

“We started with Operation Watershed, now a national exemplar. I always said that WSCC is there in an emergency.”

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Announcing his resignation, Mr Fitzjohn said: “I have always put my residents’ interests first and will continue to do so for the remainder of my term.”

The loss of Mrs Goldsmith and Mr Fitzjohn, who both represent Chichester wards, proved to be the catalyst for two more resignations from the party.

Martyn Bell and Christopher Page, who serve on Chichester District Council, are both now listed as Independents.

While Mr Fitzjohn said he would not be standing for re-election in May 2021 and his reasons for leaving were personal, Mrs Goldsmith said she was giving serious thought to standing as an Independent.