Lee Anderson MP opinion: Councillor Jason Zadrozny is a dark stain on our community

Ashfield is still feeling the shock of Councillor Jason Zadrozny's conviction, but it raises important concerns that need to be addressed.

By now most people will have heard of the news of the now former Ashfield's District Council leader being found guilty of fraud and tax evasion.

This came after he defrauded Nottinghamshire County Council of thousands of pounds of public money. He also failed to pay income tax on several of his rental properties.

It goes without saying that this falls very far from the standards expected of public officials.

Most who get involved in local politics, do so to better our local communities. But it seems Councillor Zadrozny mostly had himself in mind and was clearly willing to play fast and loose with the law to get what he wanted.

Although as we know, being a criminal doesn't seem to be an uncommon trait in the upper echelons of the Ashfield Independents party, as Zadrozny's former long-term Deputy, Councillor Tom Hollis, has a string of convictions of his own.

His crimes include assault, harassment, criminal damage, careless driving, dangerous dogs, and failing to declare a financial interest to the council.

But in the cases of both men, to this day they are still raking in allowances from the taxpayer and influencing the council's decision-making as sitting councillors on Ashfield District Council. In Hollis' case, he is still the Vice Chairman of the Council.

Zadrozny's fate of course rests on his sentence hearing on 27 November, but it is not guaranteed that he will receive a sentence that disqualifies him from being a councillor.

If either of them had any ounce of respect left for the people of Ashfield, they would resign immediately.

The situation in which Ashfield now finds itself never fails to shock anyone from outside the area once explained to them.

But the people I mostly feel for are the thousands of people who put their trust in these people at the ballot box. There are now serious concerns that need to be addressed.

A corrupt individual who stole public money has been in charge of Ashfield District Council since 2018. A major inspection is needed at Ashfield District Council to assess the financial situation.

Given the nature of the conviction of the authority's former leader, it is now a matter of extreme importance to give transparency to Ashfield residents about the way their hard-earned money is being spent by the council.

If Reform UK takes control of the council next May, rest assured that every department at Ashfield District Council will be forensically inspected. We will also rid the council of anyone who is found to be complicit in any wrongdoing.