Conservatives will debate future of Simon Dudley, who wants police to act against rough sleepers before the royal wedding

The leader of Windsor council is facing an attempt to force him out of his job by fellow Conservatives amid controversy over his call for rough sleepers to be cleared from the streets of the town before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.

A “back him or sack him” motion of no confidence is expected to be debated at a meeting behind closed doors of Conservative councillors in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) on 22 January.



The move comes as more than 218,000 people have signed a petition on change.org calling for Simon Dudley to withdraw his demand that police use legal powers against rough sleepers and beggars before the royal wedding on 19 May.



“Instead the council and local authorities should offer a suitable long-term solution for these people, including safe and secure accommodation and health advice and support,” says the petition, organised by Holly Fishwick.



Dudley wrote to Thames Valley police this month to call for action against “an epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy in Windsor”, saying residents and tourists were being exploited. He wanted police action before the royal wedding, when tens of thousands of wellwishers and tourists are expected to descend on the Queen’s weekend home, Windsor Castle.

Windsor council leader sparks backlash with rough sleeper remarks Read more

Dudley this week defended his comments, saying he was referring to anti-social behaviour not homelessness.



“At no point have I said ‘move on the homeless’,” he told BBC Radio Berkshire. “The key thing is to draw the distinction between homelessness – which is an abomination in a civilised society – and anti-social behaviour, which is a very bad and deteriorating situation in Windsor.”



Independent councillors have already requested that a motion of no confidence in Dudley be tabled before the full council. However, there is 51-6 Conservative majority on the council, making any such move unlikely to succeed. The Conservative group no confidence motion is believed to have the backing of only three councillors. It would need the support of at least 26 of the 51 Conservative councillors in a secret ballot to pass.

Sayonara Luxton, the secretary of the Conservative group and a former mayor of Windsor and Maidenhead, claimed that Dudley’s critics within the party were motivated by “personal axes to grind. They’re just using the homeless issue as an excuse”.



“I have no problems with my leader, he is doing a good job,” she told the Guardian. “We support the homeless. But some people are begging during the day and then taking taxis home at the end. There’s one man who begs in Windsor town but then drives his Mercedes back to Sunningdale [the most affluent neighbourhood in the borough].



“Simon Dudley has 100% support apart from the ones who’ve fallen out with him.”



Claire Stretton, who sat as a Conservative councillor until last June when she quit to become an independent, has accused the leader of having an autocratic style.



In an email exchange between councillors, seen by the Guardian, she said she had left the Conservative group because of Dudley’s “autocratic style of leadership and behaviour, which I am sadly not surprised has led to him eventually bringing the office of leader of the council into disrepute, if not the council itself.”



His behaviour was “wholly unacceptable and undemocratic,” she said.



In a response to a request for comment, Dudley emailed the Guardian to say: “Group matters are confidential.”

A report on rough sleepers and begging in the borough was due to be completed in November, but has been delayed due to “the complexity of the situation”, deputy leader Phillip Bicknell told the Windsor Observer this week. It is now expected next month.

