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A senior West London councillor has suddenly stood down from two additional positions within the council.
Hillingdon Conservative Councillor Henry Higgins stood down from his role on the Audit Committee on Wednesday night, with the change made public on Thursday morning (August 20).
Cllr Higgins told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he provided a statement to the council democratic services team explaining his resignation. When contacted by the LDRS, Hillingdon Council confirmed he had resigned. When asked for the statement, the council simply said: “Cllr Higgins has resigned for personal reasons.”
Cllr Higgins also served as Chairman of the Audit, Finance & Performance Select Committee - a role separate from the Audit Committee which he has also resigned. He has previously also served as Hillingdon’s Planning Chairman for 16 years, overseeing planning applications across the borough.
Cllr Higgins, a local business owner, has served in a number of senior positions within the Conservative administration for over 24 years. He will remain the Conservative councillor for Northwood as he has not stepped down as ward councillor nor has he resigned from the Tory party.
First elected in 2002, Cllr Higgins also served in the Cabinet, as Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure.
While the circumstances are different in nature, he becomes the second Conservative councillor in the borough to submit a resignation in the three months since the local elections in which the group increased its majority on the council.
Cllr Kaushik Banerjee, councillor for Ickenham and South Harefield, resigned from the Conservative party just days after the their resounding victory in May though he still sits as an Independent councillor for that area. He said this was due to a lack of strategy in tackling the council's financial crisis from the new administration.
In response, the Hillingdon Conservative Group told the LDRS that they were surprised by his reasoning. The group called for a by-election, however Cllr Banerjee did not believe it was necessary to fight another election.
Cllr Higgins' replacement for both positions has not yet been announced.
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