A COUNCIL meeting ended in uproar when Conservative councillors walked out en masse - claiming a motion about to be tabled was not legitimate.

Members of Darlington Borough Council discussed the Government's Trade Union Bill at a meeting of the full council tonight (Thursday, November 19).

Before the meeting, dispensation was given by the council's legal department for the 14 members of the controlling Labour group, who are trade union members, to take part in the debate without declaring an interest.

Labour councillor Linda Hughes tabled a wide-ranging motion criticising the controversial bill.

She compared an element of the proposed legislation – in which strike organisers would be required to wear armbands identifying them as lead pickets – to something from '1930s Germany'.

But not before Tory councillors walked out of the council chamber before any discussion could be held.

Cllr Hughes joked that she had been looking forward to debating the matter with her political opponents.

The motion was carried with an amendment that the absence of the Tory councillors be noted with regret.

Luke Swinhoe, the council's head of legal services, said the discussion was valid despite the absence of the Conservatives, as only 13 members are required to be present for the meeting to be considered 'quorate'.

In a report prepared ahead of the meeting, Mr Swinhoe said if councillors who were trade union members were unable to participate, it would potentially alter the outcome of any vote on the motion.

But Conservative group leader Heather Scott said: "The Conservative group does not regard this motion as a legitimate subject for this council and will not participate in debate which is Parliamentary business.

"The bill has been passed by Parliament and any lobbying should have been done via the MP.

"Councillors are elected to represent the views of their constituents and not their own personal interests – whether that's a members' club or trade unions.

"A very dangerous precedent has been introduced, which threatens the reputation of the council."

The view of the Conservative group was at odds with Mr Swinhoe's report to councillors, which stated: "The participation of council members who are also trade union members – and in the case of one member, an employee – is likely to be helpful to members in considering the motion.

"Allowing members to participate is not, in my view, likely to damage public confidence in the conduct of the council's business.

"It is my view that it is right to grant a general dispensation to allow all members to participate fully in the motion on the Trade Union Bill."