Wiltshire Council Leader Ian Thorn has survived an attempt by the Conservative Group to bring a motion of no confidence against him after councillors voted against suspending standing orders during Tuesday's Full Council meeting.
The Conservative Group's motion, introduced by Cllr Pauline Church, centred on concerns about whether Cllr Thorn's publicly declared business interests created a perceived conflict of interest that could undermine public confidence in the council's planning system.
Introducing the motion, Cllr Church said the issue was "not something that I bring lightly" and described it as "a simple question of public confidence".
She questioned whether the Leader of Wiltshire Council, who is also Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, could simultaneously own a private business which had previously advertised services including helping clients secure planning consents, engaging with local politicians and speaking at planning committees.
Cllr Church told councillors that the information presented was based on publicly available records, including Companies House documents, Cllr Thorn's register of interests, his LinkedIn profile and the Happy Business Consultancy website.
She stressed that the motion was not alleging corruption, misconduct or that Cllr Thorn had improperly influenced any planning application.
Instead, she argued the issue was whether the arrangement created a perceived conflict of interest that could damage public confidence in Wiltshire Council and its planning system.
Responding to the motion, Cllr Thorn said he took "enormous offence" at what he described as an attack on his integrity.
He told councillors he had served on three different local authorities over the past 19 years and had never been accused of wrongdoing.
Cllr Thorn said his business interests had always been publicly declared and that he had sought advice from Wiltshire Council's Monitoring Officer on several occasions regarding any potential conflicts of interest.
He explained that his company, Happy Business Ltd, had only worked for one client and that when he became responsible for strategic planning, he followed the Monitoring Officer's advice to step away from that work.
Challenging those supporting the motion, Cllr Thorn asked whether anyone could provide "one single example" of him using his position to influence the planning process, saying no such evidence existed.
He described the proposal as a politically motivated attempt to undermine the Liberal Democrat administration and said his focus remained on leading the council and delivering for Wiltshire residents. He pointed to achievements including a balanced budget, free parking for disabled people and free swimming for children from low-income families.
Following the debate, councillors voted on whether to suspend standing orders to allow the no confidence motion to proceed.
The proposal was defeated by 48 votes to 45, meaning the motion did not go ahead and Cllr Thorn remains Leader of Wiltshire Council.
After the vote, Cllr Thorn thanked councillors who had supported the administration and urged the Conservative Group to stop what he described as repeated attempts to undermine the council.
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