Jonathan Gullis is alleged to have launched an expletive filled tirade at a political opponent, and is reported to have been led away by colleagues. The Reform council leader says he has faced a sustained campaign of abuse and harassment. The council says its complaints process has been triggered.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has remained tight-lipped over serious allegations surrounding the conduct of its leader during a heated encounter at the authority’s July meeting.
Councillor Jonathan Gullis has been accused of shouting, swearing and making threats towards Gordon Davies, a Kidsgrove town councillor and member of the public attending the meeting on 8th July.
Online accounts have alleged that fellow Reform UK councillors intervened and escorted their leader away from the confrontation.
The Staffordshire Signal has also been told that a communication concerning the incident was subsequently circulated internally to Reform councillors. We have not seen that communication and cannot independently confirm its contents.
The Signal put the allegations to Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and asked whether the authority could provide their account of the incident.
More than a week later, the council said it was still considering its response.
No official findings have been made against Councillor Gullis (to our knowledge), and the allegations remain disputed.
But what began as an alleged confrontation within the council chamber has now spilled very publicly onto social media - producing sharply conflicting accounts of what happened that evening and reopening an increasingly bitter political feud in Kidsgrove.
‘A Screaming Tirade’
Mr Davies has confirmed that he submitted a complaint to the council’s Monitoring Officer, who is responsible for considering allegations that councillors have breached the authority’s code of conduct.
In a lengthy public statement, he alleged that he approached Councillor Gullis during a recess to explain why he had previously spoken to the council’s chief executive at the officers’ table.
According to Mr Davies, he had barely begun speaking when the council leader launched what he described as an “expletive-driven, threatening and aggressive” tirade lasting between 10 and 12 minutes.
Mr Davies claims Councillor Gullis shouted remarks including “get the F out of here”, “I’m going to get you” and “you’re havin’ it”.
He further alleges that the chief executive attempted to guide the two men apart and that another councillor put an arm around Councillor Gullis as he moved back towards Mr Davies.
These allegations have not been independently verified by The Signal. It is not known how much of the encounter was captured by the council’s recording equipment, and the council has not yet answered our questions about the incident.
Mr Davies says Councillor Gullis later gave him a verbal apology. He also claims the council initially proposed handling his complaint informally, but that he requested a formal process involving interviews and an examination of any available audio and video.
A complaint is an allegation, not a finding of wrongdoing. The Monitoring Officer’s consideration of the matter remains ongoing, and Councillor Gullis has not been found to have breached the council’s code of conduct.
Gullis Hits Back (not literally)
Councillor Gullis has not addressed every allegation about the chamber encounter directly. Instead, he has published his own extensive statement accusing the Kidsgrove Independents of subjecting him to a “relentless personal campaign”.
He said political criticism and scrutiny were entirely legitimate but argued that attacks on his character, employment and family had crossed a very different line.
“I have faced repeated personal insults; allegations or insinuations about dishonesty, corruption and illegality; and attacks on my private employment,” he wrote.
Councillor Gullis particularly criticised the Kidsgrove Independents page for sharing the LinkedIn profile of the co-founder of the organisation which employs him and suggesting that residents might be given the individual’s contact details.
“Why should somebody who employs me and who is not an elected politician be dragged into this and face the prospect of his contact details being circulated to strangers?” he asked.
“That is not scrutinising a council decision. In my opinion, that is crossing a very different line.”
Councillor Gullis said his concerns had been shaped by previous experiences of abuse in public life. He described receiving threatening correspondence, being confronted while shopping and having a family car vandalised with an offensive political insult.
He also said an individual received a conditional caution earlier this year after sending threats to him online.
“Sustained online hostility does not always stay online,” he wrote. “When people know where you live and where you work, it inevitably raises concerns about personal and family safety.”
Those claims deserve to be taken seriously. Robust political scrutiny never excuses threats, intimidation, vandalism or attempts to target the relatives and private employers of elected representatives.
Kidsgrove Independents strenuously deny all accusations made against them, and say that all they have done is hold Reform to account and ensure the public is aware of decisions made by their councillors.
However, what Cllr Gullis’ statement does not do is answer the separate questions about what took place inside the council building on 8th July.
From Allies to Opponents
Its fair to say that both individuals in question have history extending months before this incident supposedly took place.
Councillor Gullis said Ray Williams, Gordon Davies and Georgia Shenton - now associated with the Kidsgrove Independents - had previously been involved with Reform UK.
He said Mr Williams had initially been selected as a Reform council candidate and that preparations for his campaign were underway before concerns raised by other members led the party to withdraw its approval.
According to Councillor Gullis, he and Mr Williams had previously worked together on the campaign to reopen Kidsgrove Sports Centre. Gullis had praised Williams in Parliament and once encouraged him to stand for the Conservatives.
That working relationship has since collapsed into an acrimonious public dispute, with accusations now travelling in both directions.
Councillor Gullis characterises the Kidsgrove Independents’ conduct as sustained personal harassment. Mr Davies rejects that description and accuses the council leader of attempting to “get ahead” of the possible consequences of the code-of-conduct complaint.
Mr Davies also denies making attacks against the families of Reform councillors.
Each side now says the other has crossed the boundary separating legitimate political criticism from unacceptable personal conduct.
Questions The Council Must Answer
There may be disagreements about what prompted the confrontation and precisely what was said. There should be far less difficulty establishing some of the basic facts.
Did officers witness the encounter? Did councillors intervene? Was Councillor Gullis led away? Does a recording exist? Was an internal message sent to members afterwards? Has the Monitoring Officer received complaints from one or both sides, and what process is now being followed?
The council may be limited in what it can disclose while a complaint is under consideration. Confidentiality around an unfinished standards process is important, particularly when no findings have been reached.
That does not prevent the authority from confirming procedural facts or explaining how it is responding to an alleged disturbance involving its most senior political figure inside its own chamber.
At the time of publication, it has failed to do so.
A council leader is entitled to protection from threats, harassment and incursions into his family or private employment. What he is not entitled to is breaching the councils code of conduct, or avoiding appropriate scrutiny from media via the official channels.
Both principles can - and must - be upheld at the same time.
For now, Newcastle-under-Lyme has two bitterly opposed accounts, an unresolved standards complaint and a council still considering what it is prepared to say.
The Staffordshire Signal has contacted Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and the Kidsgrove Independents to provide any further evidence or response. This story will be followed up if additional information is received.
UPDATE: Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has provided me with the following statement:
“Several years ago, following an incident after a public meeting, changes were made to ensure the safety of officers and elected members in non-public areas of the council building.
“Following two incidents at a recent meeting of Full Council, we are reviewing those arrangements.”
The spokesman added:
“Our complaints process has also been triggered by these incidents and that process is following its usual course. It would therefore not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
Therefore, the council has confirmed that an incident did indeed take place during a full council meeting, and a formal investigation is subsequently now underway.
This article has been provided by The Staffordshire Signal. Click below to find more local news.
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