Councillor quits Fylde Council and calls colleagues out for being 'irrelevant' and drinking tea
Independent councillor Tim Armit has resigned from Fylde Borough Council after almost 10 years and launched a scathing attack on his fellow colleagues.
The well-known and outspoken councillor cited two reasons for his decision to step down, but also added that he felt his fellow councillors had become ‘irrelevant’ and were a costly burden on council taxpayers.
He told the Gazette: "There are two reasons I have resigned - one personal and the other political.
“Firstly I have a new job which takes me to the city of London every week and reduces the time I have work with constituents.
“Secondly and more importantly I believe Fylde Borough councillors have become irrelevant and a costly burden on council tax payers and deliver nothing.
“I think the government should look at local government and how it's barely changed in the last 100 plus years and make it relevant, cost effective and useful in today's world.
“I would suggest Fylde BC councillors have not proposed, driven and implement one single significant change to Fylde in the last 20 years.
“Many councillors attend a lot of meetings, drink tea, eat biscuits and sit in silence for years.
“Personally I missed a lot of meetings due to their irrelevance but I spoke more than most who did attend or was known as a voice across Fylde on social media.”
He added: “Our conservatives have been in power for over 20 years but to what end? Being in power, getting paid, going to some parties is fine but achieving nothing other than supporting Mark Menzies helps the public how?
“We could have saved millions in council tax and been in exactly the same position if we had had no councillors across the last two decades, our full time employed council officers do an excellent job and make all their own proposals and projects happen.
“I have been proud to help some local constituents in my Ward and other wards across a number of topics and will miss that. “
He added that most people have no idea how local politics works and simply vote as they always do and could not name their councillors after having voted for them.
“I think Fylde is an excellent place to live and could be so much better with a council that cared and wanted to do something beyond being paid.
“I was so proud to force the conservatives into creating the St Annes town centre working group after 20 years of neglecting our town but now six years on not a single thing has been done, that's how our Conservatives work.
“It was the same with sewage and the children's homes in Fylde, they created meetings, decided on a report and did nothing.”
He added that he felt local politics needed a refresh.
“So for me I have seen enough, Fylde elects Conservatives to the council and gets nothing done and the public is then surprised but does it again at the next election.
“I wish all my Independent colleagues all the best in a hopeless cause but for me it's time for a change."
His departure will now lead to a by election in Kilgrimol ward.
Fylde Council has been approached for comment.