David Weeks (died 2 November 2021) was a former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Leader of

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

who served on the council from 1974 to 1998.

Career

He was leader of the council from 1991 to 1993, deputy leader from 1983 to 1991, and acting leader during 1987 to 1988. He chaired several of the council's major committees: Policy and Resources from 1991 to 1993; Planning and Development, 1987 to 1991; Finance and Personnel, 1983 to 1987; and Housing, 1979 to 1983. From 1977 to 1979 he was the chief whip of the council's ruling Conservative group. He was Leader of the Council at the time it agreed to buy back the Westminster Cemeteries after they were sold without proper provision for maintenance - a decision made by

Shirley Porter Shirley, Lady Porter (''née'' Cohen; born 29 November 1930), styled between 1991 and 2003 as Dame Shirley Porter, is a British politician who led Westminster City Council in London, representing the Conservative Party. She is the daughter and ...

to which David was not a party.

Homes for Votes scandal

Weeks was deputy leader to Shirley Porter at the time of the "

Homes for votes scandal The homes for votes scandal was a gerrymandering controversy involving the Conservative-led Westminster City Council in London. In marginal wards, the Council was starting to move the homeless elsewhere, and sell off council homes to groups who w ...

" and was found jointly liable along with Porter and others to the tune of £36 million by the District Auditor, but this was reduced on appeal by the High Court. In a 2001 judgement,

Lord Bingham of Cornhill Sir Thomas Henry Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill, (13 October 193311 September 2010), was an eminent British judge who was successively Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice and Senior Law Lord. He was described as the greatest lawyer of ...

, described Dame Shirley and David Weeks, as guilty of a "...deliberate, blatant and dishonest misuse of public power. It was a misuse of power by both of them not for the purpose of financial gain but for that of electoral advantage. In that sense it was corrupt." Lord Scott said:

The corruption was not money corruption. No one took a bribe. No one sought or received money for political favours. But there are other forms of corruption, often less easily detectable and therefore more insidious.
Gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
, the manipulation of constituency boundaries for party political advantage, is a clear form of
political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...
.

Personal life

David died on 2 November 2021, after fifty years of marriage leaving his widow Heather. He was not buried in a Westminster cemetery.

Career

Homes for Votes scandal

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading