Stone Councillors will play a big part in the new look Stafford Borough Council as Stafford Borough Independents and a Green Party member join Labour councillors to oversee the authority in the coming months and years.
Labour group leader Aidan Godfrey was elected as leader of Stafford Borough Council at the authority’s annual meeting on Saturday, the 13th of May. He is the first Labour leader of Stafford Borough Council for 20 years, taking on the role recently-retired colleague Jack Kemp held before the Conservatives took power in 2003.
Earlier this month, the Tories saw a reversal in their fortunes, with leader Patrick Farrington losing his seat by just 12 votes and two other Conservatives cabinet members – Jonathan Price and Carolyn Trowbridge – proving unsuccessful in their bids for re-election. Before the election, the Conservatives held 20 out of 40 council seats, but they now have just 14.
Labour increased their share of seats from 10 to 13, while the Green Party added four more councillors to join their previous sole representative Tony Pearce.
Stafford Borough Independents lost one seat and now have seven councillors and Liberal Democrats are back at the authority with one member, Alec Sandiford.
On Monday, the 15th of May, Councillor Godfrey unveiled the authority’s new cabinet at a full council meeting. He said:
“Thank you for putting your trust in me as leader of the council – hopefully I will live up to your expectations.”
Stafford Borough Independents’ group leader Rob Kenney has been appointed the borough council’s new deputy leader. Fellow group members Jill Hood and Ian Fordham are now cabinet members for community and environment, respectively.
The council’s longest-serving member Ralph Cooke, who has 44 years experience on the authority, is the new cabinet member for resources, while fellow Labour member Gillian Pardesi will oversee the leisure portfolio, and newly-elected colleague Ant Reid will be responsible for economic development. Green Party member Councillor Pearce has become the new cabinet member for climate change.
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Kenney said:
“Being asked to serve our communities is a privilege and an honour in any circumstance, but being asked to help co-pilot the direction of travel for a new era for the borough council through the choppy waters of current times with colleagues across the chamber is something we have a responsibility to accept.
Jill, Ian and I, as well as our wider group, are acutely aware of the need for strong independent voices to challenge and support the future of the borough and look forward to working with all councillors to bring more community influence to the decision-making in the council chamber for the residents of the borough.”
Former council deputy leader Jeremy Pert will now be the leader of the Conservative opposition group. Speaking after the meeting, he said:
“I will miss Patrick Farrington’s input – over the past eight years, he has been a fantastic leader – but I am looking forward to the change in administration and holding them to account as much as they held us to account.”
Fellow Conservative members were appointed on Monday to chair scrutiny committees. Mark Winnington, the new opposition group deputy leader, will chair the Resources Scrutiny Committee after previously being the cabinet member for environment.
Frances Beatty, former cabinet member for economic development and planning, will now oversee its scrutiny, with Ann Edgeller chairing Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and Michael Dodson chairing the Audit and Accounts Committee. Stafford Borough Independents member Brendan McKeown is the new Planning Committee chair.
Councillors Godfrey and Pert both paid tribute at Monday’s meeting to the former members who did not regain their seats at this month’s election. Councillor Godfrey said:
“I appreciate the hard work and dedication they put into being councillors.”
Councillor Pert highlighted his former group leader’s 20 years as an elected member, as well as his knowledge and experience. He also spoke of the former cabinet member for leisure’s work to improve the town centre’s Victoria Park and how the council’s first cabinet member for climate change had made the authority one of the top three in the West Midlands for its work to tackle to the issue.
