The Liberal Democrat and Labour groups elected to South Gloucestershire Council at the elections held on May 4, have announced their intention to work in partnership to take on administration of the authority.
The groups will jointly nominate Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Claire Young as Leader of the Council at the council’s AGM, to be held on Wednesday 24 May, with Labour group leader Councillor Ian Boulton to be nominated as Co-Leader of the Council. Once elected, the new Leader will appoint Members to a new Cabinet. It is expected that Cabinet positions and the Members selected to take on these roles will be announced at the meeting on 24 May. Members will also be expected to elect a Chair and Deputy Chair of the Council at that meeting.
The results of the 4 May local elections left the council under ‘no overall control’, which means that no single party held a majority of the 61 seats. This is a change to the situation before the election, when the Conservative group held 33 of the seats. The Conservative group now holds 23 seats, the Liberal Democrats hold 20, Labour hold 17 seats and one independent candidate was also elected.
The Leader, Chair and Deputy Chair of the Council are appointed by a simple majority vote at a meeting of full council.
Since the elections, the political groups have been able to hold discussions about how they can work together to run the council, while day-to-day running of and decision-making for the authority has been managed by senior officers and managers.
South Gloucestershire Council Chief Executive, Dave Perry, said: “With the council under no overall control after the recent elections, those who were elected have been able to discuss the ways they would like to work together in order to take over the administration of the authority. Any Member will have the opportunity to present their plans for the future at the public meeting of Full Council on 24 May and nominate for election new political leadership for the organisation.
“The role of officers during this period has been to ensure that the council continues to operate as it should, while supporting Members in their conversations, providing where required, legal and constitutional advice.
“Council officers are ready to brief a new administration once it is agreed by Members at the meeting on 24 May and when a new Cabinet takes up their roles.”
The Council’s AGM will be held in the Council Chamber at Kingswood Civic Centre, at 7:00pm on Wednesday 24 May. Agenda details and information on how to view the meeting online, are available on the council website: https://council.southglos.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=16108&x=1&
