To look at his webpage you’d think that former Pocklington Provincial Ward Cllr Andy Strangeway is a reformed man.

Having recently returned from Nepal the self proclaimed Buddhist states on his website:

“During the 3 years, I served as an Independent ERYC Councillor between 2016 and 2019 I certainly made mistakes in not only what I did but also what I did not do.
I fully intend to use these mistakes as stepping stones in the ERYC 2023 election campaign and more importantly as a Councillor if residents elect me to represent them.”

Which all sounds very positive. However, when I included information about his previous election performance in his Bugle profile, he emailed me to say:

“In your original communication with me you stated “I will publish the information unedited” Thus I replied. Sadly you failed to respect this. You appear to be untrustworthy. To assist, this is what I stated unedited:
“Further information relevant to my candidacy in the 4th May 2023 ERYC election is already available (and, going forward, will be frequently updated) on my website:
https://andystrangewayindependant.com
I note that you are a Freelance Journalist could you please provide your NUJ number?”

I confess I originally used the wording “Andy has chosen not to respond to my questions or provide a profile. Instead, he has provided a link to his website” I also included previous election information as indeed I am doing with all candidates who have previously stood.

HISTORY OF BULLYING

I view the request for my NUJ number as a classic bullying technique from the Andy Strangeway “How to be a Councillor Playbook”.

As a bully he has form.

In 2017 he was found guilty of bullying by the East Riding Council’s standards committee when he was judged to have bullied the wife of a parish councillor by directly contacting her employer over claims, she was harassing him. (NB: he seems to prefer bullying women more than men. Although in his response to me he is now targeting a vulnerable pensioner.)

This is a video of him defending the bullying claim.

In January 2018 ERYC Council leader Councillor Stephen Parnaby said it was “totally unacceptable” that the Independent councillor Andy Strangeway had repeatedly made derogatory comments about council staff on social media while making a series of unfounded allegations about corruption, without any evidence to back them up.

Later in January 2018 Pocklington Town Council said that Cllr Strangeways actions have been continually disruptive not only to Pocklington Town Council, who he refuses to recognise or work with, denying the town and people adequate representation. The Town council also have experienced his obnoxious and unwarranted criticism of staff/volunteers of Pocklington Town Council, as well as local charities.

For information Andy Strangeway is not what you would call a ‘team player’. He was kicked off the ERYC Independent group of Councillors and UKIP did not renew his membership in October 2016.

Readers should note that Andy communicates through his website and Facebook page but it’s a one way process. He does not allow readers to comment about his posts/blogs. Communication is strictly one way. The Andy Strangeway way.

If past form is anything to go by, I expect to receive a threat of legal action for posting this information or at the very least a horses head to add to my collection. At my age the only thing that worries me is the threat to withhold my medication.