Mid Suffolk and West Suffolk councillors consider leadership and coalitions

Following the result of Friday’s elections that left West Suffolk with no party enjoying overall control and Mid Suffolk as the first Green-led council in Europe, SuffolkNews has caught up with councillors.

West Suffolk Council has 64 councillors, so a party needs 33 to have a majority. Having lost 12, there are now 26 Conservatives – who will join 17 Labour councillors, 19 Independents, one Green and one Liberal Democrat in the council.

However, the jury is still out on the party or parties that will lead the council and form the executive, which is the body that makes most decisions.

Conservative Cllr Richard Rout, who represents Westgate, said he didn’t know what would happen in terms of leadership. He also commented: “We were expecting a difficult set of results, and we had a difficult set of results.

“A lot of very good councillors have lost their seats in West Suffolk, on the back of a national swing. That is sad to see.

“I think the majority of people were voting for national reasons over the past year, but I think Rishi Sunak is doing a really good job now. He has stabilised things.

“Obviously, closer to home, I am incredibly grateful to all those people who supported me. I know it has been a difficult time for people, and I look forward to repaying their votes with my work.”

West Suffolk Conservative Cllr Sarah Stamp agreed the national picture was to blame and joined Cllr Rout in regretting that good councillors had been lost, but said she would continue to work hard for her Southgate consituents.

West Suffolk’s Labour Group increased its number from four to 17. Labour Group leader Cllr Diane Hind thanked residents for putting their trust in Labour.

Cllr Hind continued: “We are all honoured to serve our communities and we welcome your contact on any issue. If it concerns you, it concerns us.

“Increasing our majority and possibly establishing a Progressive Alliance Coalition with others will give us the opportunity to establish our own priorities on recycling, leisure, services for young people, crime, and housing.

“We will Build a Better Bury, and in time a Labour government will Build a Better Britain."

Labour Cllr Cliff Waterman, who represents Eastgate, said: “Councillors are discussing the possibilities going forward at the moment.

“Clearly, we will need some kind of cooperative working, and that’s actually a good thing.

“For too long, West Suffolk Council has been run by one party and has allowed a lack of ambition to creep in.

“From Labour’s point of view, we’ve now got 17 outstanding councillors, who are all looking forward to working hard and doing the best for their wards.

“We will also be looking at the wider West Suffolk issues, including potholes, antisocial behaviour and housing – in particular, making homes more sustainable.”

The 19 Independents on the council include the separate West Suffolk Independent group and Independent group.

West Suffolk Cllr Andy Neal, Independent Group representative for Mildenhall Town, put forward the idea that the Independents might support Labour but retain their Independent status.

However, he made it clear he did not know that would be the outcome and that the Independents haven’t had a meeting since the election.

Cllr Neal said: “Whoever leads the council will need the support of the Independents now.

“But, for the last four years, the Conservatives haven’t really wanted to support the Independents. Now, they want to be our friends.

“If Cliff Waterman ran for leadership, he would have my support. I think he would have the support of a few other Independents, too.”

In Mid Suffolk District Council, the leadership looks clearer: it is very likely that it will become the second Green-run council in the world.

Mid Suffolk’s Greens have 24 seats, the Conservatives have six and the Liberal Democrats have four.

The one other Green-led council is in Yarra, Australia. Cllr Andy Mellen, leader of the Mid Suffolk Green and Liberal Democrat Group, said Yarra’s Greens had already been in touch and were planning to share advice with their very distant counterparts.

Cllr Mellen said: “We are in the process of forming an administration, and it looks like it will be a purely Green one.

“We have a group meeting this evening, during which we will decide who has what responsibility.

“We have 15 new councillors but they’re not all new to public service or management-type positions – and they have strong skills we can benefit from.

“Clearly, the environment and biodiversity will be important for us, but they certainly won’t be our only priorities.

“We think all councillors of all parties have a contribution to make, and we look forward to working with them."