Rye Town Council is looking for a new councillor following Rebekah Gilbert’s resignation, which was announced on Tuesday, July 2. The former mayor’s decision means a vacancy on the sixteen strong council.
Cllr Gilbert explained her decision to stand down. “I have decided to pursue training that, if successful, would lead to an officer role rather than an elected one, which requires a period away from elected office. This doesn’t mean I’m giving up my job as a therapist, which I love, but that I’m interested in pursuing a different angle of public service.”
She has been a town councillor since 2015 and was mayor during the pandemic. Rebekah Gilbert has also played a major part in helping rescue Rye Leisure Centre. “I’m certainly not going away, and am still very much involved in Rye, my adopted home town since I arriving here at the age of eight!”
Rye mayor Andy Stuart gave this reaction to the news from his fellow councillor and one of his predecessors. “I would like to thank Rebekah for her unstinting service to Rye as a town councillor for 10 years, including 2 terms as mayor during the difficult Covid years. And I would like to thank Rebekah for all her hard work outside the town council – most recently with Rye Leisure Centre. I think not just the council but the whole town owes her, and the whole team involved at the leisure centre, a deep debt of gratitude. As she sets out to retrain I commend Rebekah for making this decision, and she has my very best wishes.”
Unless 10 or more eligible electors write to the returning officer by the deadline of July 22 calling for an election, the council will use its co-opting procedure to select a new councillor. Under this procedure people can put their names forward and make their case to be selected as a councillor directly to the council. This has been the usual route for all recent vacancies.
The next full election for the town council will be in May 2027 meaning any new councillor will serve for just under two years initially.
Staying with Rye Town Council, the planning and townscape committee meets at the town hall on Monday, July 7. The meeting starts at 6:30pm.
The agenda includes an update on the neighbourhood plan.
Image Credits: Rebekah Gilbert , Finn Givens .
Hear hear! to the Mayor’s comments about Rebekah. She is multi-talented and has given her all for Rye. Always there to deal with queries and tenacious too! Thanks Rebekah.
You will be missed.
Your shoes will be very difficult to fill.
Rye will miss your involvement in the pursuit
excellence in all that you have done for the town.
Thank you for all your efforts on behalf of Rye, Cllr. Gilbert. Particularly for your involvement in saving the Leisure Centre.
The TC should ensure we have an election. Without a democratic mandate, the Council’s legitimacy and relevance is inevitably compromised. An election might also arouse interest in local governance. We should in particular seek applications from young people and from people beyond the ‘Citadel’.
I would also suggest that strictly applying the archaic parish boundary criteria negatively impacts the pool of potential volunteers (which is what Town Councillors are). There must be many hundreds of people whose entire lives are centre upon Rye but are excluded from serving by the boundary. I understand the underlying reasons, but is the TC overwhelmed with applications?
Rother have indicated the likely cost of administering a bye-election for a Town Councillor, which Rye TC would have to pay, is £10,500 to £11,500.
Everyone in Rye owes you a debt of gratitude Rebekah, thanks especially for everything you’ve done to ensure the secure future of the leisure centre.
If there is an election for this casual vacancy, to stand as a candidate you would need to complete the nomination forms which includes getting a proposer and seconder, submit them by hand to the town hall in Bexhill to then be approved by the returning officer. Then run a campaign targeted at the local electorate. After the election campaign you need to complete a legally mandated election expense return and submit that. All election literature / social media needs to have the required legal imprints as well.
Holding an election to fill a single vacancy puts up an unnecessary barrier to entry to those wishing to put themselves forward – this will surely put some people off, something we should all be keen to avoid.
If we use the co-opting procedure people simply need to let the council know they want to stand, make a short presentation to the existing councillors and the selection is made there and then. Simple, quick, and no expense to the public purse as there would be with a by-election. There is no reason that supporters of any given candidate could not also write to the council to let them know why they think a particular person should be chosen. Surely this will attract more people to put their name forward than a by-election.
The rules on who can stand to be on a council are set by national legislation – quite rightly there is nothing Rye Town Council can do about this. The “archaic parish boundary” is something we are stuck with. However you don’t have to live or own property within this boundary to qualify to stand. In broad terms you have to be 18 or over and meet just one of the following: be registered as a local government voter in the Rye Town Council area (“the area”); have occupied as owner or tenant land or premises in the area for 12 months before nomination day; have lived in the area for the 12 months before the nomination day; or you work in the area. No-one checks your qualification to stand (though someone could challenge you on it).
The full rules are here: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance-candidates-and-agents-local-government-elections-england/what-you-need-know-you-stand-a-candidate/qualifications-and-disqualifications-standing-election/qualifications
While I disagree with Mr Harris about the need for a by-election to fill a single vacancy now, I suspect we both agree that there simply must be an election for the town council in 2027.
We should do all we can to make sure as many people as possible put themselves forward to be councillors so there is an election in 2027. Rye News could play a key role, looking at what current councillors have achieved, questioning why they are on the council and why they deserve to be re-elected, and profiling and encouraging new candidates to stand.
I think we essentially agree, judging by your conclusion, David. Cooption might seem pragmatic and cost-effective (as an aside, how much does a TC by-election cost?), but it needs to be the exception rather than the norm, or democracy begins to appear more remote, less relevant and representative and perhaps more exclusively the preserve of particular constituency of appointed people. To your point about the admin putting potential candidates off, I’d say they’re already put off, by that and broader disenchantments. In conclusion, perhaps standing for election to any office ought to be made much easier and less bureaucratic to widen appeal. On the question of youth, wouldn’t it be brilliant if we had a ’Junior Town Council’ during the Summer holidays, to express the voice of Rye’s young people, to engage them in democracy and ensure they understand its value.
Guy is right in saying the council needs young blood as we enter the second quarter of the century soon, Young Councillors with vision for the future of our town, is the way forward for the benefit of all .
Thank you Rebekah for all you have done for the town and most recently helping to make sure that the pool/leisure centre had a future. You have always been approachable and if you haven’t been able to help then you have always known someone who could. It must be a thankless task especially in our unique town of Rye and no one will be able to fully fill your shoes! I wish you all the very best in your new venture and am sure that in time we will see you supporting our town in a different way.
I find myself disagreeing with Guy Harris (Sorry, Guy) that there ‘should’ be an election to cover a single vacancy. Co-option can be an opportunity for the Town Council to choose someone of known expertise and experience in fields affecting current local issues.
Although elections are, of course, a vital part of our democracy, and should be held at regular intervals (as they are), they are, ultimately just a ‘popularity contest’, and, as we have seen in certain elections elsewhere recently, winning a seat is no guarantee of the ability of the winner to do the required job.
We have tended to be lucky in Rye with our choice of Councillors; as a regular attendee at meetings, I have witnessed how seriously, conscientiously, and, above all, non-politically, our Rye Town Councillors take their duties – and, as others have said, Rebekah has done a truly remarkable job for the town, and will be sorely missed.
However, now that this ‘casual vacancy’ (what an understated description for the job!) has arisen, and with the current challenges local Governments everywhere are facing, I believe Rye Town Council should be given the chance to select someone with the needed skills, experience and qualifications rather than leave this seat to the vagaries of a public vote.
So where do you draw the line between self appointed and duly elected?