Council Leader welcomes Commissioner’s resignation after vote of no confidence

Council Leader and vice-chair of the York and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, Cllr Keith Aspden, has welcomed Phillip Allott’s resignation after losing a vote of no confidence.

With Lib Dem, Labour, Conservative councillors as well as independently appointed members all voting in favour, the motion of no confidence was carried unanimously at a meeting of the panel earlier today. Proposed by Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley and supported by cross-party members of the panel, the motion sought to express the panel’s lack of confidence on Mr Allott’s performance as the Commissioner, condemning his comments. The full text of the motion is available below.

The virtual meeting saw Mr Allott face questions over his comments as well as repeated calls to resign. Following the vote of no-confidence, Mr Allott’s resignation, although long overdue, has been welcomed by vice-chair of the panel. 

Councillor Keith Aspden, City of York Council Leader and Vice Chair of the York and North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, commented: 

“The Commissioner’s comments and actions, as well as the failure to recognise their impact right away, are unacceptable and he should have left the post weeks ago.

“As a panel in charge of scrutinising his work and performance, it was important to send a message of condemnation over his appalling comments. I sincerely hope that this will now enable a focus on the major task that lays ahead - changing the culture and institutions which have failed to do enough to tackle violence against women and girls.”