Senior Tory Walks Out of Meeting After Being Told to Behave Amid Protests Over Questions

Gloucester: A councillor had quite the exit from a meeting. Andrew Gravells, a Conservative, got frustrated and stormed out. Why? He felt his questions were being blocked.

The meeting was already tense, with protests and shouting. Gravells was only allowed one follow-up question, which he thought was ridiculous. He called the situation “farcical.”

The council leader, Jeremy Hilton, tried to keep things on track. He reminded everyone about the time limits. But after several questions from others, time ran out. Gravells wanted to ask more but was told he could only ask one more.

He was clearly upset. He mentioned seeing rough sleepers in town and wanted to discuss it. But Hilton kept pushing him to stick to the question. Gravells felt it was rude not to introduce the officers present.

Things escalated when Gravells felt he wasn’t being treated fairly. He argued he knew how to run a meeting and didn’t appreciate Hilton’s tone. As tensions rose, other councillors joined in the protests from the gallery.

Gravells left, and the atmosphere was charged. People in the gallery called the situation “embarrassing.” After he left, Councillor Rebecca Trimnell answered his question. She explained the council was taking the issue of rough sleeping seriously and had plans in place.

Hilton expressed disappointment that Gravells didn’t stay to hear the response. It was a wild meeting, to say the least!