FORMER mayor of Petersfield John Crowhurst has resigned from East Hampshire District Council after claiming that government code of conduct rules have made it impossible for him to speak for the people who elected him.
He has urged East Hampshire District Council to press the government for changes to the code and now he is calling on MP Michael Mates to take up the issue in Parliament.
Mr Crowhurst (69), who has championed causes in Petersfield under the Liberal Democratic banner for the past ten years at EHDC, said he was not prepared to carry on under the present rules.
"I have got better things to do with my time than fight against things that, sadly, I have no hope of winning at the moment."
He handed his resignation in to East Hampshire District Council on Friday, to take immediate effect.
The problem arose in July when Mr Crowhurst, who is also a Petersfield town councillor, was banned from speaking at an EHDC development panel meeting. This was because the meeting was due to discuss the town council-owned Pennsfield site which it is pressing for inclusion in the local plan as a housing site.
He told The Herald: "Not only could I not listen, but I was barred from hearing about other sites in the district. It was suggested that I might influence other councillors in a way to benefit Petersfield."
He said the implication was that if a town or parish councillor was also a district councillor, they could not give opinions on any issue which might be debated at district level.
Mr Crowhurst believes the code of conduct is a national as well as a local problem and has this week written to Mr Mates asking him to press for changes. "I spoke to him recently and I do not think he was completely aware of the situation."
"In the past," Mr Crowhurst told The Herald, "we took the advice of the council's solicitor, then decided what we were going to do ourselves and what our consciences would permit us to do.
"I do not think we have ever been in the position where officers have told councillors 'no, you can't attend a meeting'."
He added: "The rules have brought into sharp focus the fact that I think it is totally dishonest for a member to sit on both councils because he cannot represent his electorate under the present rules.
"To express views at town council on planning applications and other issues, to support openly the interests of the public and the town, is to have one's right to vote at district taken away."
Liberal Democrat leader Teresa Jamieson said this week: "John has worked hard on the district council and we shall all miss him.
"Many people in his ward will recall the times he has helped them with problems. His great strength was the efforts he put into helping individuals. Recently his health has been poor and a councillor's workload is not light."
Mr Crowhurst will remain a member of Petersfield Town Council.