Door left open for dissenting Tory councillor Kate Salinger to return, according to Barnet Council leader Lynne Hillan (From Times Series)

Door left open for dissenting Tory councillor Kate Salinger to return, according to Barnet Council leader Lynne Hillan

10:50am Friday 30th July 2010 in

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THE door has apparently been left open for a much heralded dissenting Tory councillor to return to the main party fold.

Coppetts ward councillor Kate Salinger was shunned by senior Conservative members after she abstained from the controversial vote on increasing cabinet members' allowances.

She was disciplined by party whips and stripped of her major committee roles, although she has found widespread support from the community, opposition councillors and Government ministers.

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Conservative councillors were allegedly warned they would face punishment if they chose not to support the move, which involved switching the allowance system to a model suggested by an independent panel to London Councils.

But Barnet Council leader Lynne Hillan said this week: “The group officers decide on group discipline.

“I like Kate Salinger very much. I think she is an excellent councillor and I hope she will soon be back in the fold.”

Asked why the decision on how to vote was whipped by the Tories, Cllr Hillan said because the majority of members had voted for it to become group policy, it fell under the system.

Under group rules though, councillors are allowed to vote against policy if they feel it is a matter of conscience, a condition Cllr Salligner said she took on board when abstaining.

But the decision to vote could not be a matter of conscience, according to Cllr Hillan.

She said: “There's a very fine line between a matter of conscience. Matters of conscience are actually things like voting for abortions and those sorts of areas.

“It's not just deciding 'oh I think its a matter of conscience so I'm not going to vote for it'.

“We are going to have to make 25 per cent cuts over the next few years. There are going to be some terribly painful decisions to be made. Are people going to stand up and say they won't support it because 'It's a matter of conscience'? Where is that going to end?”

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