The mayor of Blackwood claims he is the victim of a “totally undemocratic” decision to defer his appointment to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s standards committee.

George Etheridge was nominated for the role last March, but has since seen his appointment fall at the final hurdle on two separate occasions.

Last November, the local authority deferred the decision after receiving “a complaint alleging that town councillor Etheridge had breached the code of conduct for members”.

And at the most recent full council meeting, held on Tuesday January 13, members backed another call for deferral after hearing claims the selection process had been “flawed”.

Cllr Etheridge, an independent member of the town council, claims he has suffered a “personal attack” and has pointed the finger at senior officers for the delays.

“It seems the chief executive and monitoring officer acted without proper cause undemocratically and all of this has been totally unnecessary,” he claimed.

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