On 18 August, the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed that Hillingdon Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Richard Mills, had spent months posting on Facebook under the pseudonym “DelightfulYuzu2877,” commenting on Council business and the conduct of residents while concealing that he was one of the people making the decisions being discussed. The Ruislip Residents’ Association covered the story in detail on 23 August. On 24 August, MyLondon published a follow-up with reaction from residents who had been personally targeted by the account.
HARA is launching a petition calling on the Hillingdon Conservative Group to remove Cllr Mills as Deputy Leader.
Among the accounts in that MyLondon piece: Sandra D’Souza, a West Drayton school governor, was told by Cllr Mills’s account that she risked “a reputation as one of those… who just complains continuously” – advice from a councillor telling a resident to stand for election herself, before she knew who was giving it. Andrea and John Scrivens, campaigners for the Rural Activities Garden Centre, were dismissed by the account as “the usual rent-a-crowd.“. Arabella Sargent, who has led the campaign against the closure of the West Drayton tip, asked the account directly who it was; it did not tell her, but the account did tell her fellow campaigners that West Drayton “chose a mix of opposition representatives on the council so probably part of what happens when picking the losing side” — the Deputy Leader of the Council telling residents their services might depend on how their ward voted.
Under a HARA post in May, the same account described this organisation as “a front… taken over by an egomaniac with his own political agenda.“. Weeks earlier, HARA had organised and funded “Hillingdon Decides” – a leadership hustings run in line with Electoral Commission guidance, offering equal speaking time and treatment for every qualifying party, funded through a modest, non-political budget provided by residents’ associations. Four parties took part and answered residents directly. The one party that didn’t was Cllr Mills’s own.
Asked by the LDRS whether he still backs Cllr Mills, Council Leader Cllr Steve Tuckwell said a formal complaint was “now being considered through the proper process,” and that he would not “prejudge that process.” He added: “For the avoidance of any doubt, I will not be asking Richard to stand down as Deputy Leader.”
We think residents should have the chance to say otherwise.
A Deputy Leader is not merely a councillor. It is a position of trust, in the gift of the Leader, carrying responsibility for the conduct of the administration as a whole. Cllr Mills held that position – and the role of Chief Whip before it – while spending months anonymously insulting the residents, campaigners, and residents’ associations he was supposed to represent. A formal Code of Conduct complaint, made separately, will determine whether the Code itself was breached. Removing him as Deputy Leader is not a matter for that complaint, or for the Council as a body – it is a decision for the Hillingdon Conservative Group alone. We believe residents should be able to tell the Group directly what they think that decision should be.
The petition is here. It will be sent to the Hillingdon Conservative Group and to Cllr Tuckwell once it closes.