Liberal Democrat members of East Cambridgeshire District Council walked out of a meeting tonight called to discuss the council’s two trading companies. 

All councillors were invited to what was billed as a shareholder meeting for East Cambridgeshire District Council’s two trading companies. We had been advised that this was a meeting run by the trading companies, and expected the opportunity to raise important questions of governance and performance with the company chairman and the managing director.

Lib Dem councillors were dismayed and alarmed to find that neither the chairman nor the managing director of the companies was present, that the council chairman was running the meeting, and that there would be no opportunity to discuss governance and performance issues with the chairman or the managing director of the companies.

In response to questions from Lib Dem councillors, confusing and contradictory advice was given about the rules under which the meeting was being conducted. Lib Dem councillors pointed out that if the meeting was a council meeting it should have been open to the public, whereas if it was a company meeting the company chairman should have been chairing it.

We were shocked to discover that there was to be no opportunity to have our questions answered by the company chairman, that the meeting appeared to be neither a company meeting nor a council meeting open to the public, and that no minutes would be taken. We could not possibly remain under those circumstances.

The way in which this meeting was handled only adds to our growing list of concerns about the council’s trading companies.