New interim chief executive for Tameside council after last one resigned over 'Tory compassion' tweet

A new interim chief executive of Tameside council has been appointed after the previous incumbent resigned ahead of a report finding he breached legislation with a social media post.

Sandra Stewart, the council’s monitoring officer and head of governance and pensions, will assume the top role for a period of 12 months. In an urgent item voted through at an extraordinary meeting of the town hall this week, councillors were told that the previous long-standing chief executive, Steven Pleasant MBE, had resigned without giving them time to find a replacement.

A report presented at the meeting found that Mr Pleasant, who had been the head of paid service for 13 years, breached government acts and the statutory code for local authority publicity when he expressed surprise on Twitter that a Tory voter had ‘compassion and empathy’.

READ MORE: Tameside's chief executive who quit found to have breached rules with Tory voter tweet

The breaches relate to a tweet he posted on March 25 using his official chief executive account – six weeks ahead of the local elections – in which he responded to comments made by a Conservative voter on BBC’s Question Time. A clip from the TV programme showed an audience member who voted for the Tories telling minister Damian Hinds his government is a ‘disappointment’.

In a post that has since been deleted, Mr Pleasant replied on Twitter saying: “She was good. Tory voter with compassion and empathy for others. Who knew!!”

Ms Stewart will be paid £184,767, and will serve as the council’s electoral registration officer and returning officer. In a year’s time a permanent recruitment process for the job will be undertaken, council documents state.

The report about Mr Pleasant’s post, written by Ms