One of the longstanding Labour councillors for whom I have considerable respect is Chepstow councillor Sue Riley. She is not tribal, stands up for what she believes in and is a councillor of great integrity. She’s not usually outspoken and has been a loyal Labour councillor, only having voted differently to the rest of her group once – on a matter of conscience when we had a debate about support for carers.

Last week, Sue left the Labour Party and now sits as an independent councillor. It was very sad to read her reasons for doing so. She cited bullying and the fact she was told to cancel an appointment for cancer treatment so she could attend a council meeting because the Labour group wanted her vote.

This is the first time in my decade as a councillor that I have heard of any allegations of bullying within Monmouthshire County Council and it’s deeply shameful. I understand that Sue has complained about the behaviour but has yet to receive an acknowledgement.

Council groups are not homogenous groups of people. We sometimes have different views on things. As we come from different backgrounds with a wide variety of life experience, we sometimes approach issues from different perspectives and this is a strength. It means we can have proper debates about issues before deciding on a course of action. That’s how teams operate. Or how they should.

Ahead of a meeting in March 2025 where Labour thought they would lose a vote to the Conservatives and Independents, Sue was told to cancel an appointment for cancer treatment so she could support the Labour Party. This is shocking. In the end, Sue did attend her appointment because my group heard about this clash and we decided to offer ‘a pair’. This is an arrangement never used in the council before but is often used in Westminster where an opposition member will not vote to offset a member of the executive. We were not prepared to make someone miss their cancer treatment.

In the Conservative Group, we have had occasions where a councillor has a medical appointment that they simply cannot change and that’s life. Your health comes first. I struggle to believe that anyone could be so heartless or treat a member of your own team so poorly.

Irrespective of party politics, this needs to be investigated. There’s no place for bullying in our local council.