Found: Reform councillor in Northamptonshire who missed election count
Councillor missed election count and first council meeting because of 4-week New Zealand trip
We bring you the curious case of Reform councillor Nicholas Humphries, who won a seat on West Northamptonshire council in May.
Despite winning, Cllr Humphries did not attend his election count on 2 May. Nor did he attend the first council meeting two weeks later.
This non-attendance also meant that there was no photo of him on the council website.
The local newspaper the Northampton Chronicle and Echo began to ask about the councillor’s whereabouts, “considering he now represents 9,000 members in his ward and has access to a basic annual allowance of £13,750 from the taxpayer”.
In a statement to the newspaper after it published an article about the situation, Cllr Humphries said:
“I was away in New Zealand for a period of four weeks, this was a pre-planned trip to attend my brother’s wedding and spend time with family who live in New Zealand. It had been scheduled for a significant time and was not something I could move or reschedule for the election count.”
The council says he has now accepted office as a councillor as of late May.
Cllr Humphries did not offer any information about further extended excursions he may have planned for the future.