On 5 July 2019 Cheshire’s Police and Crime Panel, or more particularly the Labour Councillors on the panel who hold the majority, passed a vote of no confidence in its Chairman Bob Fousert. This was the culmination of a row that had flared at the previous meeting when Mr Fousert had asked Labour’s Cheshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Councillor David Keane whether Cheshire Constabulary’s Deputy Chief Constable Julie Cooke’s wearing of an ‘LGBT+Ally’ lanyard was a political statement.
Councillor and Commissioner Keane chose to interpret Mr Fousert’s question as an attack on the LGBT+ community and responded to him in that vein. After the meeting he wrote an open letter to Mr Fousert calling on him to resign. Mr Fousert responded in an equally forthright stance defending his actions. If you read those letters you have the impression that neither the Commissioner nor Mr Fousert were listening to each other. In fact the letters read like ‘shouting.’
I have to say, that from my point of view Mr Fousert’s question, whilst perhaps well intentioned and based on an article in ‘Policing Insight,’ was poorly put and left him open to the charge that he was anti-LGBT+. Also his subsequent attempts to justify his position only served to make matters worse. He kept ‘digging.’
I am also very critical of Councillor and Commissioner Keane’s response to the original question and his actions which followed. He had the opportunity to show real leadership and assist in clarifying that a legitimate question was being put that required an answer. However he chose instead to capitalise on Mr Fousert’s clumsy question and court controversy.
This row gained national prominence and led Mr Fousert into calling an extra-ordinary meeting of the panel for 5 July so the issue, and his Chairmanship could be debated by the panel.
Prior to 5 July debate I had researched in detail the obligations the police have both to promote equality and to avoid being embroiled in politics. As I said in the meeting - there was a legitimate question to ask - it could have been put:
‘Is the Commissioner satisfied that the correct balance is being struck between the police’s obligation to promote equality and their obligation to stay out of politics over the use of rainbow lanyards etc.’ He could have quoted the relevant principles from the Police’s Code of Conduct:
“Equality and Diversity
3.1 According to this standard you must:
- uphold the law regarding human rights and equality
- treat all people fairly and with respect
- treat people impartially...
“Police Duties and Responsibilities
6.3 Police officers must not take any active part in politics. This is intended to prevent you from placing yourself in a position where your impartiality may be questioned.”
Underpinning the Police’s Code of Conduct are the ‘Nolan Principles’ of public office. All public servants and those that are elected have to abide by these principles. These principles include that of showing ‘leadership.’ Leadership for me, in this context, would have been to downplay any inadvertent, unintended language, explain why the language used was outdated, and then move on to deal with the real question that lay underneath.
At the panel meeting on 5 July all Labour Councillors that spoke stated that they accepted that Mr Fousert was not anti LGBT+. They also stated that the tabling of a motion of no-confidence was not a political act. However the vote that followed suggested quite the reverse.
In spite of vehement protests by the Labour Councillors on the panel that the tabling of a motion of no confidence in Bob Fousert as Chairman was not a political act the voting pattern suggested something different. It was only Labour Councillors that voted for the motion of no confidence. The Conservative and independent members voted against, with the sole Liberal Democrat abstaining. The motion was therefore passed 7:5 with 1 abstention.
At my insistence the Police and Crime Panel will receive equality and diversity training. I suggested that the training be open to the panel’s secretariat and an invitation be extended to the Police and Crime Commissioner for him to attend the training too.
If you want to see Mr Fousert’s defence of his position you can see his comments here.
If you want to see my remarks - they are here.