One councillor behind sharp rise in complaints

The borough has seen more code of conduct complaints in two months than the whole of the previous year

A single councillor is behind a sharp rise in code of conduct complaints at one Merseyside council, a senior officer has revealed.

Monitoring officer Jan Bakewell, whose role includes handling code of conduct complaints for St Helens Council, made the remarks during a meeting held at St Helens Town Hall earlier this week.

In an update to the standards committee on Monday, councillors were told that 47 code of conduct complaints had been received by the local authority since January.

Bakewell said that most of those complaints related to the conduct of a single councillor and the same matter, with 40 complaints ‘still under consideration’.

The complaints have come from both members of the public and other councillors, she added, and some related to posts on social media.

Complaints against former councillors do not tend to proceed, the monitoring officer explained in response to a question from Newton-le-Willows Independent councillor Karl Collier, because it would be unlikely to be ‘in the public interest’ to pursue them.

Bakewell also said one complaint had been dealt with at stage one of the process, where it was decided not to investigate because it related to conduct before the individual had been elected and therefore ‘was not acting in their capacity as a councillor’.

Six complaints relating to a single member were resolved at stage two through an informal alternative resolution. Bakewell said this involved ‘informal advice relating to the code, use of social media and removal of a social media post’.

Two complaints related to parish councillors, with the remainder concerning borough councillors.

The council later confirmed to the Monitor that 41 of the 47 complaints had been received following the local elections in May.

Previously, the council received 21 complaints between July 2024 and January 2025, followed by 18 over the next six months before falling to 14 between July 2025 and January 2026. Against that backdrop, receiving 41 complaints in the space of around two months represents a significant increase.

Asked whether the local authority would need to increase its capacity to deal with the rise in complaints, a spokesperson said: ‘The council is confident in its capacity to respond to and process councillor code of conduct complaints.’

At the same meeting, officers presented councillors with an update on the council’s emerging AI strategy and revised social media guidance reminding members that the code of conduct also applies to online activity.

St Helens was Labour-controlled until May’s local elections, when Reform UK won a controlling majority and George Woodward became council leader.

Since taking office, the new administration has attracted significant public attention over a series of controversial decisions and statements, including by the leader Cllr George Woodward regarding ending council involvement with Pride and Refugee Week, which resulted in changes to library displays and funding previously associated with Refugee Week being redirected.

The group has also seen a number of changes since taking office. The councillor originally appointed as Reform group leader stepped down from that role shortly after the election following scrutiny of a recent conviction, while two other councillors have since resigned from the council.

The standards committee was not told the names of any councillors involved or the specific matters the complaints were connected to, although the council confirmed there were ‘multiple complaints about the same issue’.

One person told the Monitor they had submitted a code of conduct complaint over concerns about statements made by council leader George Woodward in relation to Pride. Mr Woodward was invited to comment. The Monitor has not received a response.

before you go read that code of conduct …

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