Which councillors are not turning up to full Ilkley Town Council meetings?
The last time every councillor was in attendance was September 2024 …
We’ve been attending Ilkley Town Council full council meetings reasonably regularly as of late – which is a good thing. It gives us a chance to properly observe, report and scrutinise power – even if it’s at the lowest level of local government.
After all, as the town-splitting 20mph zone controversy has unequivocally shown, the decisions that parish councillors make do have a direct impact on the lives of people who live and work in Ilkley.
It’s not always easy to attend these meetings as a member of the public, let alone as a journalist of a small, independent local newspaper (hence our fix it, fund it, future proof it campaign). Life gets in the way, we make other plans and, truth be told, sometimes it slips our mind. What we would expect, however, is, genuine reasons aside, for our councillors to be present. Once a month can’t be too hard right?
We decided to take a look. It’s not massively scientific. We’ve just gone through all the minutes since January 2024 and noted absences and not presents. To note, Ilkley Town Council is made up of 14 councillors. They are:
Pauline Allon, Liberal Democrat
Linda Brown, Labour
Harry Burns, Conservative
Steve Butler, Conservative
Catherine Cheater, Conservative
Jane Gibson, Labour
David Hesmondhalgh, Green
Damian Kearns, Ilkley Community Alliance
Andrew Loy, Conservative
Karl Milner, Labour
David Nunns, Conservative
Jane Sellers, Conservative
Amanda Simmonds, Labour
Sean Spence, Conservative
Based on our reading of absences and not presents (and please do correct us if we’ve missed something here), it appears that there has only ever been two instances where all councillors on Ilkley Town Council have been in full attendance for full council meetings. The last one was in September 2024.
This is just two out of 23 meetings. In 2025 there hasn’t been one instance where all 14 councillors have been in attendance for full council meetings. Of course, the reasons for the absences may be genuine and unavoidable (we’re simply reporting on what has been recorded in the minutes), but, nevertheless, it’s a striking stat.
Regular attendance of representatives at all levels of local government is important. Councillors are elected to represent, make decisions and to be held to account. You have to turn up to do that. Otherwise what are you actually doing?
According to our analysis, councillor Burns, who represents Ilkley North, is noticeably absent. On his profile page, he states: “Being the youngest member of the Town Council, I also hope to improve youth participation and engagement as local decisions affect people of all ages in our town and it’s easy for younger people to feel disconnected.” Why isn’t he turning up?
He is followed by Milner, who represents Ilkley South. On his profile page, he states: “I believe that we accomplish more when we work together, so I ran for Town Council. Supporting local charities and organisations is a passion of mine, as it’s the most sustainable way to make a difference in our community.” Why isn’t he turning up?
Attendance among other councillors is very good. For example, councillor Catherine Cheater, who represents Ilkley West, has had no recorded absences during the period covered, while councillors Gibson, Loy, Nunns, Kearns, Brown and Simmonds have only been absent once.
You can check out the full list below. If you spot any errors, do let us know and we’ll update. Thank you.
2025
Monday 6 January
Apologies for absence
Burns
Sellers
Monday 3 February
Apologies for absence
Milner
Monday 3 March
Apologies for absence
Burns
Monday 7 April
Apologies for absence
Milner
Spence
Monday 12 May
Full/annual
Apologies for absence
Spence
Monday 2 June
Apologies for absence
None
Not present
Burns
Milner
Monday 17 June
Extraordinary meeting
Apologies for absence
Allon
Brown
Simmonds
Not present
Burns
Hesmondhalgh
Kearns
Milner
Monday 7 July
Apologies for absence
Burns
Hesmondhalgh
Nunns
Not present
Milner
2024
Monday 8 January
Full/Budget
Apologies for absence
None (full)
Loy (budget)
Not present
Burns
Nunns
Monday 5 February
Apologies for absence
Butler
Burns
Monday 4 March
Apologies for absence
Burns
Monday 8 April
Apologies for absence
Milner
Monday 13 May
Full/annual
Apologies for absence
Burns (full)
Sellers (full/annual)
Annual
Apologies for absence
Sellers
Monday 3 June
Apologies for absence
Burns
Monday 11 June
Extraordinary meeting
Apologies for absence
Burns
Hesmondhalgh
Loy
Sellers
Not present
Milner
Monday 8 July
Apologies for absence
Butler
Gibson
Hesmondhalgh
Monday 12 August
Extraordinary meeting
Apologies for absence
Hesmondhalgh
Spence
Not present
Burns
Monday 2 September
Apologies for absence
None
Monday 7 October
Apologies for absence
Burns
Spence
Monday 4 November
Apologies for absence
Burns
Sellers
Monday 2 December
Apologies for absence
Allon
Burns