Conservative candidate for Oundle by-election missed two thirds of district council meetings

Conservative Annabel de Capell Brooke wants to be elected to the county to represent the Oundle ward despite only attending nine of the 24 meetings she should have gone to at East Northamptonshire Council in 2018.

She missed the last four meetings of the year and only attended three of the year’s nine full council meetings.

She was also absent from last month’s full council meeting and did not send apologies.

The district councillor has been out on the campaign trail in the Oundle area in recent weeks accompanied by the Conservative MP for the area Tom Pursglove.

Ms de Capell Brooke has been contacted for comment about her poor attendance as an East Northamptonshire councillor but has not responded.

Speaking this afternoon (Feb 19) her election agent Rosemary Armstrong said she was not aware of her attendance record at East Northamptonshire Council.

On East Northamptonshire Council, where she represents the Prebendal ward, Ms de Capell Brooke is a member of four committees

She only attended two of last year’s eight governance and audit committee meetings, half of the four standards committee meetings, and two of the community facilities fund working party meetings. The grievance committee did not meet last year.

The election is being held after former leader of the county council Heather Smith stood down from representing the ward in January. Mrs Smith had been leader of the county council from May 2016 to March 2018, when she resigned after a damning government inspection found severe financial and management failings.

The elections take place on Thursday (February 21).

Standing against Ms de Capell Brooke are Labour candidate Harry James and Liberal Democrat candidate Marc Folgate.