Tensions Flare at Oakham Town Council as Decade-Old "Abolition" Petition Resurfaces

Tensions Flare at Oakham Town Council as Decade-Old "Abolition" Petition Resurfaces

By Local Democracy Reporter 

Oakham Town Council is bracing for a stormy session this coming Wednesday, February 11, as a bitter row over a decade-old campaign to abolish the council threatens to overshadow local business.

The rift centers on a formal question submitted by Cllr Paul Ainsley directed at Cllr Martin Brookes. The query seeks to force Cllr Brookes to declare whether he still believes the council is "no longer fit for purpose" a stance he took in 2015 when he launched a petition to dissolve the authority entirely.

The friction appears to be a delayed aftershock from the controversial reading of Cllr Anna Douthwaite’s resignation letter last year. Since that event, the atmosphere in the chamber has reportedly soured, with Cllr Brookes claiming he has faced "three consecutive months" of personal attacks.

Cllr Ainsley’s question, framed as a "straightforward two-option format," asks Cllr Brookes to choose between:

• (A) That the council should be dissolved to reduce costs and improve governance.

• (B) That he no longer holds this view.

In an opening statement, Cllr Ainsley cited emails from December 2025 in which Cllr Brookes allegedly claimed he was only a few signatures short of triggering a referendum on the council’s existence in 2015 and remains confident he could do so again if there was a need.

Cllr Brookes has reacted with fury to the inquiry, labeling it a "gross waste of meeting time" and an "amateurish attempt at a 'gotcha' moment."

In a written statement prepared for Wednesday’s meeting, seen by this reporter, Cllr Brookes accuses his colleague of a "retrospective fishing expedition" and a "campaign of targeted harassment."

"I will not be bullied, I will not be intimidated, and I will not be reduced to a binary 'A or B' answer to satisfy Cllr Ainsley’s personal vendetta," the statement reads.

Cllr Brookes further suggests that the questioning is a retaliatory measure for his own scrutiny of council efficiency. He has already raised the matter with the Monitoring Officer, arguing that the question has no relevance to the current business of the Oakham South Ward.

Cllr Paul Ainsley's Questions to be asked at Wednesday's meeting.

From: Paul Ainsley <painsley@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk>
Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2025 6:35 PM
To: TownClerk <TownClerk@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk>
Cc: enquiries <enquiries@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk>
Subject: Members’ Question for Next Council Meeting

Hi Chris,

The formal question and accompanying opening statement I intend to raise at the Full Council meeting on 14 January are set out below. I am content for this email to be included in the meeting pack.

Opening Statement

Councillor Brookes has previously stated, including in emails from 10 December 2025, that he once gathered signatures to abolish this council and was, unfortunately, just a few signatures short of triggering the required referendum. He’s also said he’s confident that, if he chose to pursue it again, he could secure the extra signatures needed to start that process.

I’m asking my question today simply to clarify his current position. To keep things clear for the minutes, I’ve set the question out in a straightforward two option format so the response can be recorded accurately and without any ambiguity.

Formal Question

To Councillor Martin Brookes, Member for the Oakham South Ward:

Could the councillor confirm, by choosing one of the following two positions, whether he still holds the view expressed during the petition he launched in 2015 under Sections 82 and 100 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007:

(A) that Oakham Town Council is no longer fit for purpose and should be dissolved to reduce costs and improve governance; or

(B) that he no longer holds this view?”

Thanking you in anticipation.

Kind regards

Cllr Paul Ainsley | Oakham North East

ROL House, Long Row, Oakham, LE15 6LN

T: 07903 004883 | e: painsley@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk

Please note: Emails may occasionally be sent outside standard working hours, with no expectation of a response outside your own.
For formal council matters or to contact the office, use our central mailbox: enquiries@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk. This address is jointly managed by the Council Office Team to ensure timely replies and a clear audit trail. Responses cannot be guaranteed if other office email addresses are used

Councillor Brookes will respond with this written statement:

Formal Written Statement: Councillor Martin Brookes 

Date: February 6, 2026 Regarding: The Procedural Irrelevance and Bad Faith 

Questioning by Cllr Ainsley 

1. Rejection of the "Question" and Procedural Abuse 

Let me be absolutely clear: I am under no legal or moral obligation to participate in a 
staged interrogation regarding personal views I held many years ago. Cllr Ainsley’s 
attempt to force me into a "two-option format" is not a pursuit of clarity; it is a 
transparent, amateurish attempt at a "gotcha" moment that has zero bearing on the 
current business of Oakham Town Council. 

This question is a gross waste of meeting time. It is a retrospective fishing expedition 
triggered by the inappropriately read resignation letter of a former colleague an event 
that was handled with questionable professionalism to begin with. To bring a matter 
from 2015 into a 2026 council meeting is a desperate reach for relevancy. I formally 
request that the Chair strikes this question from the record, as it serves no purpose 
other than to settle a personal score. 

2. A Campaign of Targeted Harassment 
What we are witnessing this evening is not "scrutiny" it is a persistent, calculated 
campaign of undermining and bullying. For three consecutive months, I have walked 
into this chamber only to be subjected to personal attacks. 
Cllr Ainsley’s obsession with my past activities is having a direct, adverse effect on 
my morale and, by extension, the effective working of this Council. It is a sad 
indictment of his priorities that he would rather litigate a decade-old petition than 
address the pressing needs of the Oakham South Ward. This is nothing more than a 
continuation of the hostility I have endured for daring to suggest that this Council 
should be more accountable and efficient. 

3. Final Notice 
I will not be bullied, I will not be intimidated, and I will not be reduced to a binary "A 
or B" answer to satisfy Cllr Ainsley’s personal vendetta. 
If Councillor Ainsley has nothing of substance to offer this town other than a 
15-year-old grievance, then he is the one who should be questioning his fitness for 
office. I refuse to dignify this nonsense with a formal answer. 
I have said all I intend to say on this matter. I expect the Council to return to actual 
business immediately.