Shalford Councillor Withdraws From Next Year’s Borough Council Election

Published on: 11 Jul, 2018
Updated on: 15 Dec, 2018

Cllr Michael Illman

Michael Illman, a Conservative borough councillor for Shalford, has withdrawn his candidature for next year’s (May, 2019) borough council elections.

Reports of the withdrawal were confirmed by colleagues.

The decision has surprised some local councillors, coming in the wake of his successful appeal against deselection, earlier in the year. At the time, he claimed unfair treatment from the Guildford Conservative Association president Jim Dawkins who had sat on his selection panel.

Included in the grounds for Michael Illman’s appeal was a claim that Dawkins had been prejudiced against Illman because of a disagreement about the handling of three planning applications.

Cllr Illman’s performance as a ward councillor is also understood to have been criticised, including his low level of attendance at parish council meetings.

Jim Dawkins said at the time: “It is not appropriate to comment in detail about the selection process, however the suggestion that I was biased in any way is just not true and hurtful.

Jim Dawkins, President of
Guildford Conservative
Association (taken in 2013).

“Someone with my experience and integrity would never act with anything other than complete probity and the four other members of the panel would attest to that. As a grandfather of 86, I believe firmly that anyone standing for elected public office needs to work tirelessly for the people they represent.”

But despite Illman’s successful appeal, Council Leader Paul Spooner (Con, South Ash & Tongham) demoted him to the back benches in last month’s Executive reshuffle.

The demotion came despite Illman’s display of loyalty to the council leadership, even breaking election pledges to oppose the development of Blackwell Farm, to do so.

Following a promotion that surprised some councillor colleagues and council watchers at the time, Illman took over Nigel Manning’s (Con, Ash Vale) portfolio as lead councillor for finance in May 2016 and continued in that role for the duration of Manning’s two-year absence on mayoral duties.

Cllr Illman has declined to comment.