Jane Pearce stood down as chairman of Desborough Town Council following a backlash against a proposed tax rise
When the council tax shot up by 400 per cent, local passions rose accordingly.
But the war of words that shattered the calm middle England town of Desborough then boiled over into something far uglier.
Now, amid claims of bricks through windows, children being targeted and cars being vandalised, the ten-strong ruling group of Tory councillors has quit.
They were hit by a backlash after putting up their slice of the borough’s council tax bill by £77 – 400 per cent.
That led to chairman Jane Pearce standing down before last month’s town council meeting – prompting whoops of delight from dozens of residents in the public gallery.
Mrs Pearce allegedly had a brick thrown through her patio window, while other incidents saw cars belonging to the council clerk and other councillors damaged and abusive clips posted on social media. Mrs Pearce’s husband and young children are also said to have been affected by the abuse.
Following the chairman’s decision, colleagues Ray Brooks and Allan Matthews also quit, prompting the remaining seven Tories on the Northamptonshire authority to follow suit.
In a letter of resignation, they said mother-of-three Mrs Pearce had been hounded from office.
The letter said: ‘We deplore the unpleasantness, rudeness, abuse and bullying which Jane has endured and to which we, ourselves, have also been subject. Vigorous political debate over issues of substance conducted in a civil manner is one thing. But personal abuse, intimidation and threats is quite another.’
Mrs Pearce, who was elected in 2011, did not return requests for comment yesterday. But she has told her local radio station that, ‘with hindsight we perhaps should have sent out some kind of warning’ that the council levy on the tax bills would rise from £19.10 to £96.98. Mrs Pearce, 43, said she had been ‘shocked by the ferocity’ of the reaction.
‘My husband’s taken abuse on Facebook’, she added. ‘I’ve had comments made to my eldest child who’s only 15. I’ve had people try to stop children playing with my nine-year-old daughter.
‘They didn’t ask for that and they don’t deserve that.’
Eamon Gilbey, one of two independents who made up the rest of Desborough council, whose overall council tax is levied by Kettering borough council, said the abuse had been ‘astonishing’.
Conservative councillors were hit by a backlash after putting up their slice of the borough’s council tax bill by £77 – 400 per cent
He added: ‘Jane was a fantastic councillor who is totally dedicated to Desborough. But we have had up to 50 or 60 people attending meetings and, whenever the clerk stood up to speak, he would be screamed and shouted at. The clerk and the council assistant have both spoken of feeling threatened. When people start to make threats or dragging councillors’ children into things then it moves to a whole new level of outrageous behaviour.’
Mr Gilbey said meetings were videoed, with clips posted on social media. ‘On some of these clips, threats or abusive comments have been made to councillors or staff. Some have been passed to police to see if any crimes have been committed.’
But resident Karen Harrop said: ‘When residents have tried to speak (at meetings) we have been told we can’t, they’ve tried to throw people out and they’ve called the police. They refuse point-blank to answer any questions if they don’t like them. We’re not the bullying ones.’
Northamptonshire Police said it was ‘made aware of allegations relating to the alleged bullying and harassment of a number of councillors last week’.