A TRIPLE power failure could not halt democracy when the lights went out at a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council.

With the council chamber in darkness, Harrogate mayor Caroline Bayliss asked members if they wanted to carry on. They overwhelmingly voted to continue.

The first failure ended an hour into the full council meeting on Wednesday, with members squinting at their papers with doors left open to allow in light from a landing.

But there were two more short failures, and a blast on the internal speaker system.

Councillor Bayliss said the cut may have been linked to restoration work in a nearby kitchen.