Mayor slammed over trip to races

Peter Davies was on annual leave when the meeting—which formalises the council structure for the year ahead—was held, raising a few eyebrows in the chamber.

The leader of the Doncaster Labour Group, Cllr Glyn Jones, has now demanded an apology from the Mayor and said that his actions showed a “lack of respect for his post and the people of Doncaster.”

He said: “I am appalled that Mayor Davies did not attended the meeting and has instead chosen to spend his time watching horse racing.

“This is further proof that he is out of touch with the public.

Was the Mayor right to miss the meeting? Tell us what you think by using the "write a comment" buttons.

“They would expect him to be here in Doncaster when it matters, not just in-between the racing calendar.

“Unfortunately it that seems Mayor Davies would rather spend his time trying to back a winner at the races than support the people of Doncaster, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet.

“He should apologise to them.”

But Mayor Davies said that he had done nothing wrong and was entitled to annual leave.

He said: “I don’t think that the people of Doncaster would expect me to be there, I think they expect me to run this town well by bringing in investment and increasing our prosperity.

“If this had been a meeting of vital importance, then that’s a different matter.”

He added: “I’m allowed seven-weeks’ holiday a year and during my years in this job I have by no means taken the amount of time I’m entitled to.

“One thing that is important to me is going to Scotland for horse racing for three or four days.

“This latest trip had been in the diary from before Christmas so if people thought it was so important they could have checked the diary instead of just complaining when I wasn’ there.”

Mayor Davies’ deputy, Cllr Patricia Schofield, took his place at the meeting.

He added: “Sometimes in this job I put in seven days a week, including evenings, so I think I deserve a few breaks here and there.

“The whole thing is just ludicrous. The only reason for me to attend was to announce the new cabinet and I left that to the deputy Mayor.

“We did everything we were supposed to, by the rules.

“I happened to be on annual leave and attending a much more enjoyable event that the council meeting.”

READ MORE