A Parish Council chairman has been 'ousted' a week after being elected - because he failed to sign a piece of paper.

The election of Paul Bromley was declared 'illegal' as he did not sign a formal declaration of office as chairman of Silsden parish council. Now a new election will be held at the July meeting.

The row flared after last week's annual general meeting ended in chaos after just five minutes. The collapse happened after Cllr Lawrence Walton raised a point of order over the election of new chairman Cllr Bromley and vice-chairman Ann Harvison.

Cllr bromley was elected by the casting vote of outgoing chairman Michael Anderson.

Arguments developed in all corners of the town hall council chamber as an angry Cllr Walton challenged the legality of the vote which brought Cllr Bromley to the chair.

He announced that he had consulted the Yorkshire Local Councils Association and that neither Cllr Bromley nor previous chairman Michael Ander-son had signed a declaration of acceptance of office. He said because of that the election was invalid.

Cllr Walton demanded the election be run again, claiming: "Mr Anderson never signed a declaration and so he did not have the power to use his casting vote to appoint Mr Bromley."

In fact, Cllr Anderson did sign a declaration when he took up his position as chairman in 1995.

Cllr Walton's claims infuriated other councillors who called them 'sour grapes' because he was not elected chairman himself in last month's vote.

Cllr Bromley refused to hold the election again, saying he had signed a copy of the declaration in the presence of town clerk Joanne Conway. He also said that because two members of the council were not present it would not be a fair vote.

Again Cllr Walton demanded a re-run of the election, but his request was turned down when Cllr Bromley adjourned the meeting. "It is an illegal move," Cllr Walton told him. "You are illegally hanging on to office."

After the meeting Cllr Walton said it was not a case of sour grapes. "I just want to see the council run legally," he said.

The Local Government Act 1989 states: "At the meeting at which the chairman is elected he must, in the presence of a member of the council or the clerk of the council, deliver to the council a declaration of acceptance of office."

Mrs Conway confirmed on Monday that she had taken advice from the Yorkshire Local Councils Association and officials had informed her Cllr Bromley was correctly elected chairman for 1998/99.

Cllr Bromley should have signed the declaration at the previous meeting when he was elected, but in fact signed it a few days later.

Mrs Conway said: "Follow-ing his failure to sign a declaration of acceptance of office of chairman Mr Bromley ceased to be chairman at the end of that meeting.

"As Mr Bromley was chairman for the duration of the May meeting, Cllr Harvison was correctly elected as vice-chairman. She was not requir-ed to sign a declaration and remains validly elected as vice-chairman.

"The parish council therefore has a vice-chairman but no chairman at present."

The July meeting of the parish council will start with Cllr Harvison in the chair and a new chairman will be elected at that meeting.

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