The Liberal Democrat and Labour groups elected to South Gloucestershire Council at the recent elections on 4 May, have formally confirmed their partnership that will take on administration of the local authority.
The groups jointly put forward Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Claire Young as Leader of the Council, with Labour group leader Councillor Ian Boulton appointed as Co-Leader of the Council at the council’s AGM on Wednesday 24 May.
During the meeting, the new Leader also appointed Members to a new Cabinet. The new roles are as follows:
Leader of South Gloucestershire Council and Cabinet Member for Council Governance – Councillor Claire Young (Liberal Democrat)
Co-Leader of South Gloucestershire Council and Cabinet Member for Education, Skills, Employment and Business – Councillor Ian Boulton (Labour)
Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration, and Infrastructure – Councillor Chris Willmore (Liberal Democrat)
Cabinet Member for Cost of Living, Equalities and Public Health – Councillor Alison Evans (Labour)
Cabinet Member for Climate and Nature Emergency – Councillor Louise Harris (Liberal Democrat)
Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Councillor – Maggie Tyrell (Liberal Democrat)
Cabinet Member for Adults and Homes – Councillor John O’Neil (Liberal Democrat)
Cabinet Member for Resources – Councillor Adam Monk (Labour)
Cabinet Member for Communities and Local Place – Councillor Leigh Ingham (Labour).
Lead members from the other party for each of the portfolio areas above were also announced, as well as Chairs for a number of committees, boards and partnerships.
The annual meeting is also the time to elect a new Chair and Vice Chair for the coming year. The Leader, Chair and Vice Chair of the Council are appointed by a simple majority vote. Councillor Mike Drew was elected to serve as Chair of the Council and Councillor Franklin Owusu-Antwi was elected to serve as Vice Chair.
Leader of South Gloucestershire Council Councillor Claire Young said: “I am delighted to take on the role of Council Leader and very pleased to announce this new Cabinet, which delivers a broad range of experience across the council’s work areas.
“This is an excellent opportunity to put forward a new vision for South Gloucestershire and to help improve the lives of local people. We want to change the way decisions are made and work with residents and communities to ensure they are supportive of our plans.
“Our priorities include tackling the climate and nature emergency and helping residents with the cost of living crisis – both of these will be taken in to account with all decision making. We will also be focusing on improving lives of children and families, working with schools to address educational inequalities, and promoting age friendly communities. We will be developing a new local plan to protect South Gloucestershire from speculative development, working with health partners to improve the range of health services across the area and working with the West of England Combined Authority to identify improvements to bus services.”
The Council’s AGM was held in the Council Chamber at Kingswood Civic Centre on Wednesday 24 May. Agenda details and information on how to view a recording of the meeting are available on the council website: https://council.southglos.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=16108&x=1&.
