On Thursday, Blyth Town Council agreed to spend £15,000 on civic chains for the Deputy Mayor and their consort.

At the full council meeting, a proposal was put forward to buy new chains of office for the Deputy Mayor and the Deputy Mayoress at a cost of £15,000. Opposition councillors fiercely opposed this purchase, and a motion was put forward to reject this proposal.

Although the motion against the plans was supported by all four Conservative, one Liberal Democrat together with two Labour Town Councillors, the spending was approved by the rest of the Labour-led council.

Members said that this spending was totally inappropriate at this time and that the council has done without them for the last 13 years.

The Conservative councillors said: “This decision was absolutely unbelievable. We have been contacted by many local residents across Blyth who have felt really let down by the waste of taxpayers money, especially at such a time.”

We are calling on Blyth Town Council to retract the decision as a matter of urgency.