Members of the public raised serious concerns after votes were recorded in the name of Plymouth Council leader Tudor Evans, despite him being absent from his duties due to illness.
Residents contacted Plymouth Plus following last Monday’s final Full Council meeting of 2025 to question how the Labour leader was recorded voting despite him not being present in the council house at the time.
One person told us how they believed this clashed with the council’s own constitution, which states that votes may only be taken by councillors in their seats during the meeting.
In response, Plymouth City Council insists that there has been no constitutional breach and that what happened was the result of a councillor using 'the voting buttons on the wrong microphone'.
After being contacted by Plymouth Plus, the council confirmed that ‘the Council’s voting record has now been corrected to reflect the mistake’.
Another resident who contacted us questioned whether the voting system was fit for purpose. They added:
"The voting system the council has invested in only shows 20 councillors on the screen at the time and isn’t fit for purpose.”
In a statement issued to Plymouth Plus, the council said in full:
"There was no constitutional breach at the Council meeting on Monday.
"During the voting process, one councillor accidentally used the voting buttons on the wrong microphone, which resulted in a vote being recorded under the name of an elected member who was not in attendance, rather than their own.
"This was a simple error. There was no double counting of votes, and the Council’s voting record has now been corrected to reflect the mistake.”
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