Fife councillor 'still representing constituents' despite living 200 miles away

A Fife councillor has insisted he is still representing his constituents “on the issues that matter most” despite living more than 200 miles from his ward.

Councillor Conner Young, who is one of three elected members for the West Fife Villages constituency, has been carrying out his role while staying in Southport.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has seen a post from the Conservative councillor’s private Facebook, which was posted in June of this year, stating that he had been living in the Merseyside seaside town for over a year.

Southport is just over 220 miles from West Fife villages, and it takes nearly four hours to get to by road and at least four hours and 18 minutes by rail, with at least three changes.

West Fife Villages Forum chairperson, Ronnie Collins, has called into question how the job – which attracts an annual salary of £26,839 – can be done from such a distance.

“We know he is living down there. He has openly stated on social media,” said Mr Collins.

“The council should not be allowing this under any circumstances. The public do not get full representation.

“In the past, the West Fife village constituency had four councillors. It went down to three. The population is increasing, and now it is like we only have two councillors.”

Mr Collins said at least one community council in the area had complained to Fife Council about the situation, while others are not happy either.

“He has never attended a community council meeting since 2024. He has not attended one single meeting,” he added.

“The council stance on it is absolutely atrocious. They say as long as they represent the people of West Fife, he is perfectly within the criteria, covering the legal requirement.

“He only has to attend one meeting every six months to justify his wages being paid. That meeting could be a zoom call, a teams meeting. He has not showed up to any public meeting in person in over two years.”

One Saline community councillor also questioned whether elected representatives should be allowed to continue if living so far away.

“The last time he was at one of our community council meetings was 2024,” she said. “He has never done a councillor report, he never emails us, never sends his apologies.

“He disappeared off the face of the earth – it is not fair on the other two councillors because they are trying to juggle everything.”

Cllr Young, who was elected in 2022 and has been blind since birth, has insisted he is able to carry out his role.

He stated: “I believe I continue to represent my constituents in the West Fife coastal villages on the issues that matter most to them.

“I continue to participate in Council meetings and scrutinise the failures of the Labour-led council.

“While it has been an honour and a privilege to serve this ward the last four years, I have already made it clear that I will not be seeking re-election in the next term.”

Conservative group leader for Fife, Councillor Dave Dempsey, said it was possible to represent constituents from afar.

“Cllr Young’s situation is not dissimilar to mine. I deal with the vast majority of constituent enquiries by email without ever meeting the constituent,” he said.

“I do this from home and it makes no difference where my home is. Occasionally, I visit to see a location for myself, but that would be meaningless for Cllr Young since he has no sight.

“I attend the vast majority of meetings via Teams, which is just as effective as attendance in person, eliminates travelling time and is better for the environment.

“I am aware of the issue with community councils, which is something that needs further work from Fife Council.

“The council will pay for taxis, but it has failed to appreciate that the end time of a community council meeting can’t be predicted. Keeping the taxi waiting for the duration of the meeting proved prohibitively expensive.

“The alternative is waiting alone, in a strange location, in potentially inclement weather for a taxi to turn up. That would be unpleasant enough for you or me but it’s much worse for someone who can’t see if the taxi is coming or where it might have stopped.

“Both Cllr Young and the Conservative Group appreciate the impact this has had, which is partly why Cllr Young will not be seeking re-election.”

Lindsay Thomson, head of Fife Council’s Legal and Democratic Services, confirmed Cllr Young was not breaching any rules.

“Councillors are only required by legislation to attend one meeting in a six-month period, and we monitor that carefully. Cllr. Young has met this requirement so we are not investigating the issue.

“There is no requirement for councillors to attend Community Council meetings.

“Councillors are elected by the public as representatives for their local area and are therefore answerable to the electorate. Anyone who has a concern about the work of their local councillor should contact them directly.”