By Rachel Charman
Dr Jason Luty, former Conservative councillor for Eastwood Park, has reneged on plans to stand as an Independent candidate in Westborough.
Dr Luty (left), whose ongoing row with the Residents Association of Westborough (RAW) and Independent leader Martin Terry has been well-publicised on Councilbust.com, had previously announced plans to run as an Independent to purposefully oust Mr Terry.
Dr Luty did not enter his nomination papers, and told the Echo:
“With the recent announcement that the general election will be on the same day as the local elections I have decided not to stand as a candidate in Westborough this May.
“I do plan to stand next year in Westborough.”
Mr Terry said: “I think it is completely incompetent and ineffective to announce you are going to do things and then change your mind at the last minute and create confusion.”
Details of the spat between Dr Luty, a Westborough resident, Mr Terry, the Independent councillor for the ward, and RAW emerged in a Councilbust.com exclusive in December 2009.
RAW accused Dr Luty of disrupting meetings, threatening its members with violence, and committing acts of vandalism to the church where the group used to meet.
Dr Luty claimed that RAW was controlled by Mr Terry for political gain, and that Mr Terry and RAW were on a campaign to victimise and exclude him.
Mr Terry said at the time that Dr Luty had distributed images of children playing with guns to ward residents, which many found inappropriate, and that Dr Luty had posed as a councillor for Westborough in order to gain access to residents’ homes when he was in fact a councillor for Eastwood Park.
