Benefit fraud Lindley councillor, Tony Brice, to wait another month to see if expelled from Tories

A CONSERVATIVE councillor, convicted of benefit fraud, will have to wait another month to see if his party membership is revoked.

Lindley councillor Tony Brice is to be sentenced on January 25 after he admitted falsely claiming £2,977.32 in benefits from Kirklees.

Colne Valley Conservative Association (CVCA), which selects candidates for the council, has said it will wait until Clr Brice is sentenced before deciding whether to terminate his membership of the party.

An executive meeting to decide Clr Brice’s fate will be convened at least 14 days after sentencing, owing to CVCA’s constitution.

Clr Brice, 67, of Belmont Close, Highfields, has been an independent on Kirklees Council since he was expelled from the council’s Tory group on his conviction last month.

But he will remain a member of the Conservative Party unless he is expelled by CVCA next month.

CVCA chairman Neil Drake said: “We had an executive meeting on January 12 and the executive decided it wanted to wait until sentencing before the decision will be made.”