Opposition parties have criticised Waltham Forest for following an ‘overly liberal’ interpretation of the law to prevent a by-election after High Street ward councillor Tom Connor did not attend official meetings for six months, reports Marco Marcelline

Waltham Forest Council has been accused by opposition parties of “bending the rules” in its refusal to disqualify a councillor who did not attend any official council meetings for six months.

High Street ward councillor Tom Connor, who is a sitting independent, failed to attend council meetings for six months from 25th March.

According to section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972, councillors are disqualified from holding office if they do not attend any formal council or committee meetings for six consecutive months.

On 25th October, Waltham Forest Tory leader and Endlebury ward councillor Emma Best wrote to the council’s monitoring officer Mark Hynes stating that the conditions for a by-election had been met.

However, in an email seen by the Echo, Hynes said Cllr Connor was allowed to keep his seat because he had attended “informal meetings” such as ward panel sessions and councillor surgeries in that six-month period.

Hynes said the council had been following a “liberal” interpretation, rather than a strict one, of section 85 since 2021. That year, the council had sought legal advice from a Queen’s Counsel lawyer after an unnamed councillor had also missed six months of official council meetings, Hynes said.

The lawyer had recommended at the time that the council expand their interpretation of the law to include attendance at meetings where a councillor has been invited in their official capacity as a member of the council, even if those meetings are not official full council or cabinet and committee sessions.

As the unnamed councillor in 2021 had attended such meetings, he was not disqualified from office, and a precedent was thus set for Cllr Connor to retain his seat, Hynes explained.

The Echo understands the Walthamstow councillor had attended four surgeries between 25th March and 25th October, in addition to two local ward police meetings.

Conservatives, the Green Party, and Liberal Democrats have responded with dismay and anger at the council’s refusal to disqualify Cllr Connor.

In a statement to the Echo, the Waltham Forest Greens attacked the council’s “sudden shift” from following a strict interpretation of the law to a “very liberal” one, stating it raised “serious concerns”.

The Greens said: “That approach breaks with standard democratic practice and undermines the clear intent of the law, which is to ensure that residents are never left without full representation. High Street ward faces some of the most persistent challenges in the borough, including crime and litter around the market. Residents deserve councillors who are properly elected and able to represent them throughout the year.

“This goes beyond the actions of any individual councillor; it’s about protecting the integrity of our local democracy.”

The Greens spokesperson continued: “Waltham Forest residents deserve openness and consistency from their council – not one that bends the rules to suit political convenience.”

The Conservative group leader, Cllr Best, said: “It is clear to us that Cllr Connor was disqualified as a councillor in October 2025 because he did not attend any council meetings for over six months.

“It seems remarkable to us that the council would not want the residents of High Street ward to have full representation from their councillors.

“We do not understand the reluctance to carry out the necessary actions required of the council. The only people who seem to benefit from this decision are the Labour Party, who would likely lose the by-election in High Street ward.

“This is a matter of respecting both local democracy and the people of High Street ward. We hope that the council will finally do the right thing and call the by-election.”

Earlier this year, Cllr Connor was suspended by the Waltham Forest Labour group for abstaining during a vote to cut council tax support for thousands of residents.

Cllr Connor, who sits on the housing scrutiny and licensing committee, was the only Labour councillor to abstain during the vote on 12th December 2024.

Explaining his vote, he told the Echo in January: “A decision that would increase the financial hardship of those residents already known to be in poverty is not something I could vote for.”

Cllr Connor was elected to represent the Hoe Street ward in 2018 before successfully standing for election in High Street in 2022.

A retired local government worker, Cllr Connor, was supported by the socialist pressure group Momentum when he was selected to stand for election in 2017.

A 2017 Facebook post from Momentum that celebrated his candidacy for Hoe Street describes him as a “fantastic, long-standing [Jeremy] Corbyn-supporter”.

Cllr Connor declined to comment.

A council spokesperson said: “It is quite right that the public expects councillors to attend council meetings as their local representative. The council’s position is that we would wish to avoid any ambiguity by all members attending formal council or committee meetings during any six-month period.

“However, following advice from Queens Counsel in 2021, Waltham Forest takes a wide approach to the interpretation of the Local Government Act 1972, Section 85 (1 and 2), to give members every legitimate opportunity to preserve their qualification as a councillor.

“Therefore, attendance by a councillor at ward panels, ward surgeries, and other meetings with officers would meet the legal test of a ‘qualifying meeting’ at which the councillor has presented as a representative of the council. This advice, which was first received in 2021, continues to be the approach of the council.”

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