Error admitted after leader appeared to vote when absent

There has been no constitutional breach

Plymouth City Council has admitted a mistake led to leader Tudor Evans’ vote being recorded at a full council meeting even though he was absent.

Cllr Evans’ vote showed up on the big screen at the meeting in the Council House following two debates – one on the treasury management mid term report 2025/26 and a motion on the non attendance of Cllr Rebecca Smith MP.

At the time the Labour councillor for Ham was away from the chamber and normal duties recovering after a short spell in hospital.

Under local government rules councillors must be physically present at a council meeting to vote. 

The exception was during covid when members were allowed to attend and vote remotely.

Plymouth City Council said in a statement one councillor accidentally used the voting buttons on the wrong microphone.

It said it was an error which had now been corrected.

The council spokesperson said: “There was no constitutional breach at the council meeting on Monday 24 November. 

“During the voting process, one councillor accidentally used the voting buttons on the wrong microphone, which resulted in a vote being recorded under the name of an elected member who was not in attendance, rather than their own.

“This was a simple error. There was no double counting of votes, and the council’s voting record has now been corrected to reflect the mistake.”