ACCUSATIONS of a conspiracy by the town's Liberal Democrats have surrounded the decision to re-elect the chairman and vice-chairman of Whitehill Town Council for a second term.

A majority vote taken at the annual meeting of the council on Monday meant that Lib Dem Neil Ockenden will maintain his dual role as chairman and mayor.

A second vote meant that Lib Dem Faith Thomas will take on the doubled-up role of vice chairman and deputy mayor for a second term.

Independent town councillor Basil Smith, who had nominated Faith Thomas to succeed Mr Ockenden as mayor and Independent Chris Wain to become the deputy, was fuming at the outcome.

At the meeting Mr Smith called the vote "ridiculous" and said that if the Lib Dems stuck together, then no-one else "stood a chance" against them.

The former mayor and chairman accused the councillors of playing politics instead of sticking with the ten-year tradition of electing the vice-chairman to succeed the chairman and a completely different councillor as vice-chairman.

After the meeting Mr Smith contacted The Herald to register his anger over the vote and accused the Lib Dems of making their minds up before the meeting took place.

"That was an exhibition of political imposition by the Liberal Democrat members," he said.

"It was obvious they had discussed who they were going to vote for before the meeting and put their own member, Councillor Ockenden, in the mayor's position for the second time running, and in fact this is the third time he has been mayor.

"They broke from the custom of putting the deputy mayor in the mayor's position."

Mr Smith said that three- quarters of the council was made up of Lib Dems and that the vote demonstrated the potential for controlling the town council.

"I had the honour of becoming mayor about three years ago and in fact I followed on from Neil Ockenden - I was his deputy - but now they have changed their view."

Mr Smith said he felt that the council's decision was undemocratic and that he did not believe that the town council should be a political arena.

"This has overpowered democratic principles. I nominated Faith Thomas to become the mayor and there was nothing political about that at all.

"I nominated Chris Wain to become the deputy mayor because she works very hard for the community and she is a very capable person and I think would have done very well in the post."

Mr Smith has been one of three independent mayors/chairmen of the town council since it came into being ten years ago, the other two being Jim Grieve and Michael Watkinson.

He said it had come as a shock to him when the vote did not go as expected and two Lib Dem were again given the leading civic roles.

"I really was angry about this and I was in two minds about walking out.

"I don't think that a town council is any place for politics. There is an argument perhaps for it in larger councils, but not for small councils like ours.

"I think that town councillors should be there to represent their community and they should not be into party politics at all."

Mr Smith expressed the intention of nominating Chris Wain again as deputy chairman at the council's annual meeting next year.

At Monday's meeting Neil Ockenden said that all the councillors had been given a "fair and free vote".

He said he would be pleased to accept the role as chairman and mayor because it was "a fantastic job".