THE party announced in July he was being expelled. But he declared the suspension “unlawful” and refused to budge.

So what is town and borough councillor David Coole’s status with the Andover Alliance?

Well according to the Electoral Commission, Cllr Coole is seemingly still a member of the party due to a prominent role he was afforded back in March.

Cllr Coole was listed as the party’s nominating officer when the Andover Alliance was formally registered. So removing him from the party would mean removing the nominating officer.

Electoral Commission protocol states that to remove a nominating officer, the party must submit an application, signed by both the incoming and outgoing nominating officer, confirming the switch.

But in the absence of Cllr Coole signing such an application, he remains the party’s nominating officer and therefore very much a member of the Alliance.

For Cllr Coole to be removed from the role, he would need to either sign an application confirming his replacement as nominating officer, or authorise another party member to give this confirmation – neither of which has happened as yet.