AN MP has made calls for a borough councillor to resign due to his role on another council 76 miles away.

Eastleigh MP, Paul Holmes has made calls for West End, Eastleigh Borough Councillor, Tim Bearder to step down because of his role as a county councillor in Oxfordshire.

The Liberal Democrat councillor was elected to Oxfordshire County Council for the Wheatley division in 2018 and subsequently elected as a councillor in Eastleigh in 2019 because he had "proved that he lived locally".

But now this claim has been called into question by the Conservatives in Eastleigh after Cllr Bearder published his home address as a property in Oxfordshire as part of the nomination process for the forthcoming county council elections.

Cllr Bearder put the calls down to "nothing more than political spin confected to score points shortly before an election."

He added: "There are in fact no fresh questions from the people that matter - the residents I serve in both Eastleigh and Oxfordshire."

But Eastleigh MP, Paul Holmes, said he is "short-changing" the residents of West End.

"It is completely wrong for Cllr Bearder to be trying to represent two places at once.

“Cllr Bearder cannot be in two places at once. If he wants to be a Councillor in Oxfordshire, he should step down from Eastleigh Borough Council.”

Chairman of Eastleigh Conservatives, Jerry Hall added: "A few weeks ago, Cllr Bearder took the decision to vote against the runway extension at Southampton Airport – when he lives and works over 70 miles away in Oxfordshire.

“It is not fair for a Councillor in Oxfordshire to be taking decisions in Eastleigh. I’ve asked Eastleigh Borough Council to take action if Cllr Bearder refuses to do the honourable thing and resign.”

The Conservatives say the eligibility criteria published in Eastleigh Borough Council’s constitution says that individuals must either live or work within the borough to be a councillor.

The group has now written to Eastleigh Borough Council asking them to investigate.

Cllr Bearder added: "My position is entirely legal and inline with the constitution as I have a registered address in the borough and in Oxfordshire.

"If people don’t feel I am doing a good job they can replace me with a Conservative at the ballot box - despite having multiple opportunities to do so they have not - which speaks volumes about how serious an issue my residents feel this really is and what they think about the nasty parties insidious tactics."