Darlington councillors have rejected a Green Party motion calling on the government to enable a National Audit Office investigation into public spending connected to TVCA, Teesside Freeport and STDC.
The motion, proposed by Green group leader Councillor Matthew Snedker and seconded by Councillor Bryony Holroyd, was considered at a full council meeting on 24 September. But councillors had a long wait before they got to it.
Five hours later…
The meeting began at 6pm. North East Bylines reporter Ray Casey remained in the chamber until 10pm, by which point the motion had still not been heard. Councillors present have told North East Bylines it was eventually considered at around 11pm – approximately five hours after the meeting began. By then, some councillors had already left.
North East Bylines has also been told that members of the public had asked for the motions to be considered earlier in the meeting, but the running order was not changed.
The motion was defeated by a show of hands rather than a named vote. According to Green councillors present, all six members of the Green group attended and voted in favour. The remaining votes cast were against, with one reported abstention from Liberal Democrat Councillor Anne-Marie Curry.
Names, please
There was, however, an interesting contrast. Earlier in the same meeting, Conservative Councillor Jonathan Dulston had requested a named vote on a separate matter. Darlington’s procedure allows a named vote to be held when a councillor requesting one is supported by four other members, with individual councillors’ votes then recorded.
No such request was made when the NAO motion was considered, meaning there will be no equivalent roll-call showing exactly which councillors voted against it.
The motion itself would not have launched an NAO investigation. Instead, it called on the government to make the necessary statutory arrangements to allow one to take place. It also asked the council leader to write to the Government and Darlington MP Lola McEvoy to support the request.
Why shouldn’t there be scrutiny?
Richie Barlow, who is due to stand for the Green Party in Whinfield in the May 2027 council elections, criticised the decision.
He told North East Bylines: “An investigation is not an allegation of wrongdoing. It is an opportunity to establish the facts, examine decisions and give taxpayers confidence that public money has been handled properly.
“So when Labour and Conservative councillors justify why a National Audit Office investigation should not take place, despite acknowledging concerns around governance and transparency, residents are entitled to ask: why shouldn’t there be the fullest possible independent scrutiny?”
Barlow added: “Every Green councillor voted for this motion. We voted for greater scrutiny. We voted for transparency. We voted for accountability.”
Politics moves quickly
There is an awkward bit of recent history here for Labour. While in opposition, senior Labour figures repeatedly called for the NAO to investigate Teesworks. Angela Rayner renewed that call following the independent Tees Valley Review in January 2024.
Closer to home, Labour’s 2024 candidate for Tees Valley Mayor, Chris McEwan – now Deputy Leader of Darlington Council – went into that election supporting a full NAO investigation and promising to “open up the books” if elected.
Two years later, McEwan was among the Darlington councillors present when a motion seeking to make that NAO scrutiny possible came before the council. This time, Labour voted against it. Politics moves quickly. Apparently, so can the appetite for an NAO investigation.
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