The Labour-led Scarborough Borough Council has come under fire after it emerged that they wanted to charge Ukrainian refugees £150 to hold a vigil in Scarborough Town Centre, despite the Labour Party frequently using the same space for free.
Ahead of the February 24th anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Scarborough Borough Council sought to charge a group of Ukrainian refugees £150 to hold a vigil outside the Brunswick Shopping Centre. The Council also stated that they must provide a certificate of a minimum of £5m public of liability insurance and provide the Council with a risk assessment.
The Council had to be shamed into waiving the fee and the liability insurance by one of our members who has been supporting the group. In an email addressed to all Councillors it was highlighted that on three occasions in recent months the local Labour Party had used the same space for campaigning, which raised the question, did they pay £150, provide the Council with a certificate of public liability insurance and a risk assessment?
Following this email, the leader of SBC Cllr. Steve Siddons waived £150 fee and the public liability insurance was provided by SBC. However, Cllr. Siddons stated that the risk assessment was a legal requirement and therefore could not be waived. This was a reasonable request, and the vigil went ahead as planned.
This incident raised the question whether the Labour Party was adhering to the standards set by its own Council. A Freedom of Information Act Request followed. It emerged that they hadn’t paid the £150, provided proof of insurance nor as Cllr. Siddons stated, provided the legally required risk assessment. It also came to light that political campaign stalls are banned in the town centre, that anyone setting up a stall without permission would be asked to leave and that town centre CCTV is monitored for said purpose.
Once more, after this issue had been raised Labour decided to hold a fourth campaign stall in the same place. Again, not paying the £150 or providing required legal documents. These campaign stalls were attended by Deputy Council Leader Cllr. Liz Colling, who would have seen the original email highlighting the issue of surrounding Ukraine vigil. Presumably Cllr. Siddons would have been aware that his party was holding a campaign stall, contrary to SBC polices in the same place and yet it went ahead anyway.
Responding to these events Conservative Councillor, John Nock stated:
“It’s madness that SBC saw fit to try and charge Ukrainian refugees to hold a peaceful vigil on quite a sombre anniversary, while senior leadership of the Council are happy to waive these rules for themselves. Cllr. Siddons has admitted that the risk assessment is a legal requirement and yet this doesn’t apply to his party. There are questions surrounding the £600 in fees that Labour owes the Council from the last six months alone and the enforcement of said Council policies. If the area is monitored to ensure that these policies are adhered to, why were Labour not asked to leave as is standard procedure? I think we have a right to know why SBC chose not to enforce Town Centre policies on at least four occasions”.
