CRAWLEY’S mayor has been accused of attempting to ‘cling on to power’ after delaying a meeting called to hear a vote of no confidence in himself.

The extraordinary full council meeting was called by nine members of the Conservative Group on July 21.

It followed an incident earlier that month which saw a man arrested.

While officers said the meeting could be held this month, Shahzad Malik decided not to hold it until September 9.   

Mr Malik said: “Whilst officers proposed an earlier date in August, I felt that I would not be fulfilling my responsibility in the best possible manner by having the meeting this month.

“By doing that, many councillors may not get the chance to exercise their democratic and constitutional right to vote on this motion.”

But Tory leader Duncan Crow said Conservative councillors were ‘outraged’ by the decision.

Calling the delay ‘a shoddy attempt by the mayor to cling on to power’, Mr Crow said: “It’s obvious to almost everyone in Crawley that the mayor should have resigned a fortnight ago.”

He added: “For the sake of our town’s reputation, this needs resolving as quickly as possible,

“But after already sitting on our meeting request for over a fortnight, the mayor has now brought in a deliberate delay until September, when there is no reason why this meeting cannot be held within the next fortnight.”

Mr Crow was also scathing of Mr Malik for not following the advice of officers.

He said: “Any claim from the mayor that he wants more councillors to be available for the meeting is not credible, as he hasn’t asked me what the availability of the Conservative Group is, although I suspect he’s been checking with the Labour Group.”

Mr Malik said: “It was not a case of checking the availability of individual councillors but more knowing that August is traditionally a recess month in terms of council meetings when councillors tend to be away or go on holiday.”

The council has been asked why Mr Malik was allowed to decide when the meeting should be held.