Brixham Tory resignation tips Torbay Council balance

'Now I can lift the carpet and deal with the issues'

Torbay Council’s knife-edge political balance has shifted again after a Brixham councillor decided to stand down from the ruling Conservative group to become an independent.

Jason Hutchings (Furzeham with Summercombe) said in a statement that he felt he was being ‘held back’ and unable to speak his mind.

He said he would still support what the Conservatives were doing in Torbay, but his decision could make him the most powerful man on the local authority.

His resignation from the group leaves the Conservatives with 17 councillors, plus him as a Conservative-leaning independent.

The opposition group of Liberal Democrats and independents has 18 councillors.

In practice, a number of important recent debates have split down party lines, and have been decided on the casting vote of the mayor - currently, and in the recent past, a Conservative.

If Cllr Hutchings votes with his former Conservative colleagues, the Tory administration can be sure of holding sway. If on any issue he decides to vote with the opposition, the Conservatives will lose. Even if he decides to abstain, that would also be bad news for the Conservatives.

Cllr Hutchings is the third member of the Conservative group to jump ship since the last full council elections in May 2023. Katya Maddison and the late Patrick Joyce left the group to form Prosper Torbay later that year.

Cllr Hutchings said the decision to go independent had been on his mind for a while, saying it was hard to criticise decisions and ‘work ethics’ of fellow councillors while in a group.

“Certain things aren’t getting done and are being brushed under the carpet,” he said. “Now I can lift the carpet and deal with the issues.”

He said some local issues were being ignored, and he was not content to tell local voters that they were just ‘being worked on’.

“The Conservative group has made some tough decisions over the last two years - some I’m not fully on board with - but it has managed to achieve some really good projects as well,” he went on.

“I’m hoping to work with council leader David Thomas and the Conservative group along with the Lib Dem group and fellow independents to iron out the problems this council is facing.

“Local councils shouldn’t be so political and now being independent I don’t have to toe the party line and can ask questions against all sides of the chamber to get the right result for my residents.”

Earlier this year Cllr Hutchings was the subject of a complaint when he re-posted a Facebook post from Reform UK, which is against Conservative party rules.

However, he said he was not leaving the Tories to join Reform.

“I’m staying as an independent for the meantime, but who knows what’s around the corner?” he said. “But I don’t see myself being a Conservative again as the party hasn’t brought anything new forward.

“I have made this decision as I feel that my residents will have a stronger voice and from all the messages and phone calls and comments I have received, residents are over the moon I have decided to make that decision.”