The Summers Affair, in which Councillor Christina Summers is being pilloried for daring to challenging Green Party policy on equalities, may go down as a foot-note or it may be a life-changing event in local political history. It depends if her legal advisers have the resources to take it through the courts or not.

There are some disturbing features in the way in which the local Green Party implemented its rules on party discipline. It published a FAQ’s about the Affair which seems to be somewhat biased and riddled with leading questions.

It has taken “her recent behaviour towards the party” into account in deciding her punishment whereas the original charge was only about “her breach of her own written undertakings as a council candidate.” One wonders at what stage of the process was Cllr Summers told that she would also have to account for her behaviour after the vote on same-sex marriage and it seems before, too.

Those “written undertakings” (No. 7 in the list of Principle of Public Life - uphold and advance the values of equality for all people, regardless of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, religion, social origin or any other prejudice) are no different to those applied to all councillors, anyway. No account seems to have been considered of an other Principle of Public Life, namely No. 6 Personal Judgment.

The motion on July 19th was carried, but it was not a “recorded vote” i. e. in which each councillor has to state their vote out loud. There is no record of those councillors who were absent or abstained. It is arguable that it is thus a lower level kind of vote. It is understood that Cllr Summers had been spoken to before the meeting and her concerns had been voiced. She is entitled to assume that because there was no call for a recorded vote then there she should not be treated so harshly.

No doubt the local Green Party will have had their own legal advisers to steer them through the tortutious minefield of the provisions of the Equalities Act as they apply to political parties.

The fact is that this Summers Affair could spiral out of control. It is not too late for the Green Party to mitigate their losses by substituting the Panel’s recommendation to a lower penalty. There are many rooms in the God’s house and one is the cupboard under the stairs where all naughty children can be banished for a short time.

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