COUNCILS are toothless when it comes to councillors who break the rules – a Black Country politician has warned.

Councillor Adam Aston said sanctions local authorities have to deal with those who breach codes of conduct are inadequate.

The chairman of Dudley Council’s audit and standards committee spoke out after the government rejected calls to allow councillors to be suspended without pay for up to six months.

At present councillors can only be removed from office by a magistrates court if they have been found guilty of criminal acts.

Last year, councils across the country lobbied for changes in the law so they could impose harsher penalties on those who breach codes of conduct.

Dudley standards committee wrote to civil servants after the case of the former the UKIP councillor for Sedgley and MEP, Bill Etheridge, who had described Labour councillors as ‘a procession of morons and imbeciles’, ‘commies’ and ‘pinkos’ in online videos.

He also said Dudley Council House should be demolished and he ‘wouldn’t care if councillors were inside’ at the time.

Cllr Etheridge subsequently lost his seat at May’s local elections.

Government officials have now written back to the council saying it has no plans to change existing legislation.

Earlier this year a national report into Ethics in Public Life chaired by Lord Evans of Weardale recommended local authorities be given more powers to deal with wrongdoing including suspension without pay.

Cllr Aston spoke of his disappointment at the refusal to change the law.

He said the government’s intention is voters would decide if errant councillors were removed at election time but that could mean a wait of up to four years.

“It’s incredibly frustrating, essentially we have no teeth,” he said.

“The government’s position doesn’t help us, sitting in a standards meeting with a councillor who has clearly broken the rules and all we can do about it is to give him a slap on the wrist in full council and that’s it.

“Standards committees need to have some teeth, we need to be able to discipline members of the council who have broken the rules.”

The government’s decision was on the agenda at the council's audit and standards committee meeting yesterday (Monday April 15).