Malcolm Tullett: Bracknell councillor speaks out in bullying row

Those are the explosive claims made by a former Tory councillor in a blistering rebuke of the leadership at the local authority.

Malcolm Tullett defected from the Conservative Party to represent his constituents as an independent in July 2021 before giving up his seat for good in November.

His comments come as a survey found that 93 per cent of current councillors said they had witnessed bullying at Bracknell Forest Council, leading Mr Tullet to question what is being done about it.

READ MORE: Councillors pledge to stop bullying

In an interview with the News, the former Old Bracknell representative revealed his reasons behind stepping down after two years of alleged bullying from colleagues behind the scenes.

Malcolm Tullett quit as a borough councillor, forcing a by-election

"I think more [councillors] need to play a part and stick their heads above the parapet and they need to bring about change to improve the outcomes for residents.

"Bracknell Forest is a nice place to live, but the borough behind the scenes is rotten to the core,” he said.

In a scathing reproach of his former leaders, he alleges:

• The Bracknell Forest Conservative group was “run on fear or favour”
• The group is supported by a “silent majority”
• Residents deserve a “much higher standard” from their elected members
• Independent thought is ‘not encouraged’ among Conservative councillors
• The Nolan principles (standards set for how elected members should behave) are ‘not being followed’
• The borough is ‘rotten to the core’ behind the scenes

These allegations have been put to Bracknell Forest Council and Chief Executive Timothy Wheadon who said: “Almost all political organisations experience robust debate both within and between political parties and disagreement at times is an inevitable consequence of this.”

Mr Tullett’s comments come just as the national Tory party finds itself embroiled in its own bullying scandal following claims of blackmail from backbench MPs.

Following his departure, Mr Tullett was expelled from the party. He is still waiting to find out the result of an appeal against the decision.

Bullying claims

Last week, a Mayor’s Charter brought forward by Cllr Ash Merry setting out the standards of behaviour expected from BFC councillors was approved.

This followed a report from the News in which the results of a survey about the working culture at Bracknell Forest Council were revealed.

According to the ‘Pulse’ survey, 93 per cent of councillors and 87 per cent of officers agreed bullying occurs between elected officials either ‘frequently’ or ‘sometimes’.

There are currently 37 serving Conservative councillors, four Labour councillors and one Liberal Democrat councillor at Bracknell Forest Council.

When asked whether bullying contributed to his decision to quit the borough Conservative group following the News’ November article, Mr Tullett said at the time that some of the issues raised in the survey did affect his position but that he could not make further comment.

READ MORE: Councillor quits Tory Party

The News asked Mr Tullett if he would like to comment on the working culture at Bracknell Forest Council following the approval of the Mayor’s Charter.

In response, he said he first complained to the Conservative Party about bullying among the Tory group in July 2020.

Malcolm Tullett.

A second complaint was lodged in October 2021 which claimed Mr Tullett was the victim of almost two years of bullying.

The former councillor said: “The whole of the Conservative group is run on fear or favour. It is supported by a silent majority.

"The residents deserve a much higher standard from elected members.

"They should be able to represent the interests of the residents in the wider community to the best of their ability.

"They shouldn't have to be stifled if they don’t agree with the leadership.

"In my experience, there's never been proper scrutiny. They go through the motions, they tick the boxes, but they don't actually want proper scrutiny and independent thought isn't encouraged.

"It's been stated many times that the council chamber ‘requires more sheep than shepherds."

Pulse survey

Mr Tullett also told the News of his dissatisfaction with the council’s response to the Pulse survey, carried out in April 2021, which aimed to gather councillors’ and officers’ views on the working culture at the authority.

The survey, which cost taxpayers £3,630, found:

• 93 per cent of councillors agreed bullying either frequently or sometimes takes place between elected members
• 87 per cent of officers agreed bullying either frequently or sometimes takes place between elected members
• A third of councillors said they have been subjected to or observed anyone being harassed by another councillor.

Commenting, Mr Tullett said: “They spent nearly 4,000 pounds finding out what was already known.

"It never addressed the root cause [of the issues raised in the survey] and it's my belief is that there's just too much power that lies in too few hands and that’s been the case for many, many years.

"The findings of the Pulse Survey were pretty conclusive.

READ MORE: Report reveals bullying 'problem' at Bracknell Forest Council

"I agree with [Labour councillor] Mary Temperton when she said that ‘if this was a school, it would be in special measures.

"87 per cent of officers said they agreed bullying occurs between councillors.

"Nothing is being done about it.

Malcolm Tullett.

"As far as I'm concerned, the way this council is operating is the complete reverse of the Nolan principles [Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership].

"It's all about selfishness, favouritism, intolerance of the views of others, and a lack of transparency and openness."

Calls for more Conservatives to speak out

Mr Tullett told the News he first started facing pressure from Conservative colleagues when he abstained on a crucial vote to regenerate another part of Bracknell town centre back in July 2020.

The reason he abstained on that particular occasion, Mr Tullett claimed, was because Conservative councillors were given “a weekend” to consider the multi-million-pound regeneration proposals.

He indicated that although he agreed with the proposals “in principle”, he did not agree with the “haste” at which councillors were allegedly told to consider them.

Mr Tullett called on other Conservative councillors at Bracknell Forest Council to take a stand against the leadership.

He added: "There are many committed councillors representing Bracknell Forest because even though they are the silent majority, they are also hard-working.

READ MORE: Councillor expelled by Conservatives

"However, there are many who are impacted when judged by the actions of others.

"We've got some bad apples in the barrel and they tarnish those Conservative councillors who are doing a good job.

"As far as I'm concerned, the electorate no longer trust their politicians.

"We need to change that and heads need to roll in exactly the same way as heads will roll at national level.

"I think more members need to play a part and stick their heads above the parapet and they need to bring about change to improve the outcomes for residents.

"Bracknell Forest is a nice place to live, but the borough behind the scenes is rotten to the core."

What does the council have to say?

The News contacted Bracknell Forest Council and Conservative group leader Cllr Paul Bettison if they would like to issue a response to Mr Tullett’s claims.

In response, Timothy Wheadon, Chief Executive of Bracknell Forest Council, said: “As we have said previously, almost all political organisations experience robust debate both within and between political parties and disagreement at times is an inevitable consequence of this.

“I am aware that ex Councillor Tullett has been in dispute with some of his previous political colleagues for at least two years and indeed has stood for election within the political group on more than one occasion.

READ MORE: Former councillor resigns from council

“The dispute with his political colleagues is a matter for the political party itself.

“However, the sentiments expressed by ex-Councillor Tullett do not apply to the Council itself which does apply the Nolan Principles throughout.

“In his resignation letter, Mr Tullett specifically highlighted how much he had valued working with officers in the Council during his time as a Councillor, reinforcing the view that this is a political disagreement.

“It is unfortunate that the actions of the Council have been conflated into an internal political disagreement. On that basis, the Council will make no further comment on the matter.”

Cllr Paul Bettison did not issue a comment.