The council’s longtime chief executive resigned after posting a surprise tweet that a Conservative voter could show “compassion and empathy.”
Stephen Pleasant, head of the Tameside council in Greater Manchester, remarked to a member of the public at the time of BBC issues ahead of last month’s local elections.
In an already deleted post from his work account, @tmbc_chiefexec, he wrote: “She was good. Tory voter with compassion and empathy for others. Who knew! “
Pleasant, who has chaired the council since 2009, was also a government official and observed the local elections on May 5, despite the anger of conservatives in the area.
His tweet was supposed to be discussed at an extraordinary full meeting of the council on June 14, but Pleasant announced in advance that he would resign.
Pleasant apologized a few days later, saying the post “was not reviewed” and he “must formulate his feelings in a very different way.”
However, a report from the council concluded that it had violated the legal code for publicity of local authorities, in which employees must remain strictly impartial.
A report by Tameside Surveillance Officer Sandra Stewart said: “A politically restricted official, primarily a law official, should not speak publicly in a way that seems intent on undermining public support for a political party. ”
The report said the violation was exacerbated by “proximity” to the local elections six weeks later, which Pleasant continued to run as a returning officer, but concluded that “no further action is needed.”
However, Pleasant resigned in a letter to councilors, lawmakers and council officials on Wednesday.
He said it was a “privilege” to serve as CEO and cited “many achievements”, with the body chosen as the board of the year and the NHS Tameside and Glossop Clinical Assignment Group being rated “outstanding”.
Pleasant was paid £ 220,000 a year, including pension contributions, to run public services for the area of around 225,000 people near Manchester. His salary is in line with the CEOs of many other major local authorities, but is more than £ 164,000 a year to the prime minister.
Gerald Cooney, the council’s Labor leader, said Pleasant was “a great servant of Tameside and the local NHS.”
The Pleasant Board and Tameside contacted us for comment.
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