A Bracknell councillor who left the borough's Conservative group has been booted out of his committee assignments while on holiday in Scotland.

Councillor Malcolm Tullett resigned from the Bracknell Forest Conservative group earlier this month and now stands as an Independent Conservative.

At a recent full council meeting he was stripped of his place on a number of committees, most notably his role as chairman of the Wellbeing and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

As the chairman, he led the charge in conducting a review of the council's disabled Blue Badge allocation process, as well as conducting an investigation into social isolation and loneliness in Bracknell Forest.

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He was replaced on the panel by Cllr Mrs Pauline McKenzie (Conservative), with Cllr Michael Gibson (CON) taking his place as chairman. Cllr Isabel Mattick (CON) will remain as vice chairman.

Cllr Tullett will retain his spot on the Governance and Audit Committee and the Licensing and Safety Committee.

Also, he will remain on the newly created Climate Change Advisory Panel, which is a cross party panel which is not affected by party affiliations.

There are a total of 42 councillors on Bracknell Forest Council: 37 are Conservatives, three are from the Labour Party, there is one Liberal Democrat, Cllr Thomas Parker, and Cllr Tullett, now an Independent Conservative.

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The committee assignments in Bracknell had to be rearrange every time there is an election or political defection. The rearrangement took place at a full council meeting of Bracknell Forest Council on Wednesday, July 14.

Cllr Tullett was not present at the meeting itself. He told the Local Democracy Service ahead of the meeting that he would be on holiday in Scotland while the meeting took place.

Below is a full list of the committees he has been removed from: 

  • Overview & Scrutiny Commission
  • Wellbeing & Finance Overview & Scrutiny Panel
  • Appeals Committee
  • Education Employment Sub-committee
  • Employment Committee
  • Local Joint Committee
  • Community Safety Partnership Working Group
  • Finance, Care and Community Portfolio Review Groups

He was also booted from the Conservative group on Bracknell Town Council.

The town council leader Cllr Chris Turrell said: "The Bracknell Town Council Conservative group met to consider this issue. The group's view is that membership of one council's Conservative group but not the other, would be inconsistent and give rise to confusion.  The group therefore voted to declare the group membership of Cllr Malcolm Tullett void. So he is no longer a Conservative councillor."

Cllr Tullett was contacted for comment. 

Bracknell Town Council is made up of 27 councillors. It is now composed of 21 Conservatives, four Labour councillors, Liberal Democrat, Cllr Thomas Parker, and Independent Conservative Cllr Tullett.