THE Conservative group leader on Cheshire East has said it is ‘extraordinary’ the Independents have agreed to run the council with Labour again to give residents ‘four more years of the same’.
Cheshire East has been jointly run by a Labour/Independent administration for the past four years because neither the Conservatives nor Labour secured enough seats to take overall control of the council.
As in 2019, the Independent group has again opted to work with Labour.
One again the Conservative party remains the largest group on the council – with 33 councillors this time, closely followed by Labour with 31 and the Independent group has 14.
Conservative group leader Janet Clowes attacked the record of the previous administration and told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Following significant Independent losses at the recent local elections at the hands of Labour, but where Labour failed to make the gains needed to take control of the council, the Conservative group bucked the national trend and remains the largest group within Cheshire East Council.
“It is therefore extraordinary that, despite public concerns regarding the Labour/Independents’ previous handling of the budget, of highways repairs, planning delays, proposed green waste tax and cuts to other important services, they have re-aligned to give Cheshire East residents four more years of the same.”
She added: “Whilst we are disappointed at being denied the opportunity to help rectify this administration’s past errors and innovate new solutions, we will continue to scrutinise and hold this fragile coalition to account at every opportunity as our democratic mandate demands.”
The Independents and Labour officially announced this morning they would be running Cheshire East jointly.
Independent group leader Craig Browne said: “Ultimately we received strong offers from both groups. However, on this occasion, we have decided that stable leadership is what the council most needs at this time.
“The agreement we have reached today is valid for the next four years, but will be reviewed at the end of each year to ensure that both sides are upholding their part of the deal.”
Labour group leader Sam Corcoran said: “This agreement ensures continuing stability at Cheshire East Council which will be of major benefit to our residents...
"Labour has also secured agreement to the vast majority of our manifesto pledges and will work to implement these through the joint administration and our increased representation and influence on the council’s decision-making committees."
The full make-up of Cheshire East Council is 33 Conservatives, 31 Labour, 16 Independents – this includes two members who are not part of the Independent group – and two Liberal Democrats.
The new-look council will hold its first meeting since this month’s local elections next Wednesday (May 24).
This will be held at Tatton Park and will include mayor-making.
During the annual meeting, a vote will also be taken on who should be leader of the council.
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