Steven Pleasant, head of the Tameside council in Greater Manchester, remarked on a member of the BBC’s Question Time audience ahead of last month’s local elections. In the deleted post sent from his work account, @tmbc_chiefexec, he wrote: “It was good. Tory Voter with compassion and empathy for others. Who knew! “ Pleasant, who has chaired the council since 2009, was also the authority’s outgoing officer and oversaw the May 5 local elections – despite the wrath of Conservatives in the area. His tweet was due to be discussed at an emergency council meeting on June 14, but Pleasant announced in advance that he would resign. Pleasant apologized a few days later, saying the post “was not taken into account” and that “he had to express his feelings very differently.” However, a report by the council concluded that it had violated the statutes for public disclosure to local authorities, to which officials must remain strictly impartial. A report by Tameside Monitoring Officer Sandra Stewart said: “A politically restricted officer, like a legal person, should not speak out in a way that appears to be intended to influence the public support of a political party. ” The report said the breach was exacerbated by its “proximity” to local elections six weeks later, in which Pleasant continued to run as a return officer, but concluded that “no further action is required”. However, Pleasant resigned in a letter to councilors, lawmakers and council staff on Wednesday. He said it was a “privilege” to serve as CEO and cited “many accomplishments”, such as the Board of the Year vote and the NHS Tameside and Glossop Clinic Outsourcing Team being described as “excellent”. Pleasant was paid 220 220,000 a year, including pension contributions, to run public services for the area of ​​around 225,000 people near Manchester. His salary is similar to that of the directors of many other major local authorities, but higher than 16 164,000 a year for the prime minister. Gerald Cooney, the leader of the Labor council, said Pleasant was a “great servant of Tameside and the local NHS.” Pleasant and Tameside council has been contacted for comment.