Ealing Leader Demands New Tory MPS Stand Down As Councillors


Joy Morrissey and Alex Stafford were newly elected to parliament in December

Ealing's Labour Leader is calling on two Conservative councillors who have been elected as MPs to stand down as soon as possible.

Joy Morrissey who currently represents the Hanger Hill ward won the Parliamentary seat for Beaconsfield  in December and Alex Stafford who is a councillor in Ealing Broadway took the Rother Valley seat.

This means both councillors now represent constituencies outside of London and Labour say they appear to have attended one council meeting between them since the election.

Their respective entries in the Register of Members' Financial Interests state that Cllr Stafford will be working for 10 hours a month for Ealing residents, while Cllr Morrissey will be working for 15 hours a week. Councillors receive a monthly allowance of £1,503.

The most recent issue of the Rotherham Advertiser reported the story as, “MP denies greedy jibe in row over his councillor role” and carries a letter from an exasperated constituent who notes that Cllr Stafford hasn’t even committed to living in Rotherham.   

Councillor Julian Bell, Labour Leader of Ealing Council, said,  “Alex Stafford and Joy Morrissey should have resigned as Ealing Councillors as soon as they were elected as MPs for constituencies outside of Ealing.

 “I was particularly shocked to find that Alex Stafford has pledged to spend a paltry 10 hours a month working for Ealing residents. This amounts to about £150 an hour, if he bothers to turn up! Stafford has already effectively abandoned the scrutiny committee he chairs and receives an allowance for, leaving his Labour vice chair to step into the role.  

 “Ealing residents deserve better than absent Tory councillors taking public money. Cllrs Morrissey and Stafford must resign immediately and let local people elect new representatives who are actually committed to Ealing.”    

We asked for a comment from Cllrs Stafford and Morrissey regarding their intentions and await reply.

The Conservative group Leader Gregory Stafford, who is also Mr Stafford's brother, said they were actually saving taxpayers money by staying in position. On twitter he claimed, 'A standalone council by election costs between £25 and £40k each. Rather than cost Ealing taxpayers up to £80,000 we will hold those by elections on the same day as an already scheduled set of elections.''

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February 10th 2020 (updated 13th)