BNP councillor misses first meeting
May 17 2006 By Leda Reynolds, Birmingham Mail
NEWLY elected British National Party councillor George Morgan failed to show up at the Solihull Council's inaugural meeting last night.
Coun Morgan was missing from the council chamber when the borough's new councillors took their seats for the very first time.
Coun Morgan, who now represents the Chelmsley Wood ward, pipped Labour stalwart Nick Stephens by just 19 votes to clinch the coveted seat at the recent local elections which saw the Lib Dems gain one seat and Labour and Tories lose one each.
At last night's meeting, held at the council's Civic suite, the new councillors donned blue robes before filing into the council chamber where outgoing Mayor Alan Martin was replaced by John Reeve.
Before the meeting, the three main political groups had warned Coun Morgan would be given a cold shoulder, with Tory council leader Ted Richards declaring there was no place for the BNP in Solihull.
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