Yorkshire parish councillor breached code of conduct with alleged ‘misogynistic’ comments

A report authored by Neil Concannon, head of litigation and regulatory and deputy monitoring officer at the City of Doncaster Council, found Hatfield Town Council (HTC) member Michael Glynn first breached the code on August 12, 2024.

A member of the public lodged a complaint after Coun Glynn, who goes by Mick, called former Hatfield Town clerk Clare McRoy “useless”, “ineffective” and stated she was “not very good” at her job.

Mr Concannon said in his report: “I have no hesitation in concluding on the balance of probabilities that Councillor Glynn did in fact use those words/make the comments about the Town Clerk as alleged.”

The conclusion came after Coun Glynn said he did not recall the exact words he’d used at the meeting to describe Ms McRoy, who has now left her job as Hatfield Town clerk, but accepted he may well have used the words specified by the complainant.

Additionally, Mr Concannon said Coun Glynn “went on to seek to explain and justify the use of those words”.

The report concluded Coun Glynn breached the code of conduct by failing to “treat local authority employees… with respect”.

Mr Concannon wrote: “I believe that his remarks were unreasonable, unnecessary and the words used were disrespectful to [Ms McRoy].”

The investigation also found Coun Glynn breached the code of conduct at a formal HTC meeting on October 14, 2025.

HTC councillor Deborah Smith alleged Coun Glynn made a “misogynistic remark” during a heated debate.

In the meeting, Coun Glynn was being criticised by female councillors for directing members of the public, who wished to raise concerns to the Town Council, to other councillors during an open day.

The report states the meeting “becomes more fractious” with people talking over one another, before Coun Glynn can be heard to say: “We’re the only ones who can’t get a word in, talk about loose women”.

Coun Smith challenged Coun Glynn saying his comment was “misogynistic”.

In the report, Mr Concannon states: “Councillor Glynn accepts he used the phrase “Talk about Loose Women”. This is also clear from the audio recording of the meeting. Councillor Glynn sought to explain and justify his use of those words.

“Looking at the matter objectively, I consider that the use of the term “Loose Women”, whether intended to cause offence or not, was an unnecessary use of inappropriate language, sarcasm and rude.

“If Councillor Glynn genuinely did not realise he had caused offence before, I cannot see how he did not realise that from the reaction to his comments. At that point he had the opportunity to draw back and apologise.

“However, instead it seems he aggravated the situation further by inviting the other female Councillor’s Town Clerk to report him.”

The investigation led to the conclusion Coun Glynn breached the code of conduct in both occasions.

Mr Concannon’s report will be presented to Doncaster Council’s Audit Hearing sub-committee on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, when councillors will decide whether to accept the investigation’s conclusions and whether to impose any sanctions on Coun Glynn.

Councillor Michael Glynn did not respond to requests for comment from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.