Labour’s Lynn Denham and Jabba Riaz have been elected as Worcester City Council’s leader and deputy leader.
It means Labour, who are one short of an overall majority in the Guildhall, will attempt to run a minority administration at the council.
When decisions require a vote of the full council, they will need the backing of councillors from other parties.
Last night (Tuesday, May 14), that support came from the Liberal Democrats and the council’s sole Tory councillor Alan Amos, while the Greens abstained from a number of votes and actively voted against others, establishing themselves as the council’s main opposition.
Councillor Jessie Jagger made it clear the Lib Dems were not entering into a coalition.
“We know a thing or two about coalitions,” she said, referring to Nick Clegg’s controversial deal with David Cameron’s Conservatives in 2010.
Before a leader and deputy leader could be appointed yesterday, the council needed to change its constitution.
A power sharing plan pushed through in 2022 by the Greens and the Tories had meant joint leaders were appointed from the two biggest parties, but that has now been reversed.
Labour’s motion to go back to having a leader and deputy was supported by the Lib Dems and Tories last night, with the Greens voting against it.
Cllr Denham, who was joint leader alongside Green Marjory Bisset last year, said: “We wanted to do this last year but a deal was done between the Greens and Tories to keep things as they were.
“I got on amicably with Cllr Bisset but no-one was truly leading the council. On May 2 the city gave us a clear mandate on our manifesto.”
She added that having a leader and deputy as opposed to joint leaders would save the council £2,500 over the year.
Labour, Lib Dem and Tory councillors voted for Cllr Denham as leader, with the Greens abstaining.
Labour, Lib Dem and Tory members also voted for Cllr Riaz as deputy leader. Green councillors voted for Louis Stephen to be deputy leader.
At the same meeting, Mel Allcott was elected as mayor of Worcester with Matt Lamb serving as her deputy.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel