WEST Midlands UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge failed to turn up to Dudley Council House last night (Monday) where members voted to formally censure him in his role as a councillor over a series of video outbursts which he posted on social media.

Cllr Etheridge, who represents Sedgley on Dudley Council in addition to role as one of the region’s Euro MPs, was told in February he would be censured over the two video rants, posted on Facebook on October 9 and 10 last year, in which he said the Council House should be demolished with the councillors inside and called the borough’s Labour group “socialist do-gooder bleeding heart Communist rat bags”.

The council’s standards committee found he had breached the members’ code of conduct and a motion of formal censure was agreed by members at Monday's full council meeting - the last before the May 3 local election.

Councillor Michael Evans, vice-chairman of the audit and standards committee, said last night: “In all my years in this council I’ve never witnessed such a despicable and disgraceful outbursts by a member.”

Members of the council also agreed that all councillors should be required upon election to sign an undertaking that they will comply with the members’ code of conduct - which requires councillors to value colleagues, staff and members of the public and to treat them in an appropriate manner.

Cllr Etheridge told the News he deliberately did not attend the meeting and he said: "As far as I'm concerned this whole process was at first laughable and it's become an absolutely disgraceful waste of time and money - just for someone expressing opinions which I've always had.

"If you're elected for having certain anti-establishment views you should be allowed to speak freely or the people who voted for you will think you're just a politician who goes along with it all."

A motion of formal censure highlights strong disapproval of behaviour or actions taken, but carries no further penalty as the council’s powers to impose sanctions under the standards arrangements are limited.