The atmosphere at the first meeting of the new administration at Shropshire Council last Thursday was so different. There was a buzz. A sense of excitement, albeit tempered with realism. It was described by several people as like the first day of a new term. It was more than that. It was the first day at a new school with most of the faces in the chamber new.
Even some of the Conservatives, down to just seven members, were smiling. Perhaps it was relief at no longer having to carry the burden of the council’s finances. They might also be enjoying the fresh start locally for their party. It’s a chance to get rid of the “nasty party” culture that the last council leader adopted. And change the way the council is run from an exclusive club to an inclusive council.
The new council leader Heather Kidd told the meeting:
“Never did I think that when I was first elected in 2009, there would be 42 of us [Lib Dems] in 2025. There has been a significant change in the way our residents think and we have a big job to do to ensure our residents get the best deal from everything we are doing. And that means we have to work across the chamber to do that. We can’t do this on our own and every single one of you was elected by residents to work for [them] with us and officers.
“I would also like to thank officers who will be facing a different sort of time. When you have only one administration for a length of time, it takes some readjustment as different parties work in different ways. At this time with large holes in the budget, we all need to work together. We need to be able to listen to each other and value each other’s thoughts on how we can do thing better for residents.”
There was not entire unanimity during the meeting. Green leader Julian Dean said that in his experience on Shropshire Council, deputy cabinet members don’t add value to the council. There was also no specific cabinet appointment that addresses decarbonisation. Heather Kidd responded that the deputies would have a vital role and that climate change and decarbonisation would come under the highways and environment portfolio. There is still some fine tuning to do.
After just 19 minutes, the meeting was over. What then followed was a quick fire succession of AGMs for the committees. They meet, appoint a chair and vicechair and the meeting ends. This is normally routine but there were a couple of twists at this council meeting.
Previously, the Conservatives had snaffled every chair and vice chair of major committees. Opposition members were firmly kept in their place as backbenchers. The Liberal Democrat approach could not be more different. We recognise that for a council to work effectively, all parties need to work together. That does not mean we expect agreement on every decision the Lib Dems make. Challenge is at the heart of democracy. That’s why we have scrutiny committees.
In the new council, a Conservative will chair the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Ed Potter’s vicechair will be a Lib Dem. The other three overview and scrutiny committees will be chaired by Lib Dems, with Reform UK vicechairs.
Green leader Julian Dean will chair the Northern Planning Committee, with Lib Dem Mark Owen as vicechair. I will chair the Southern Planning Committee with Conservative Nick Hignett as vicechair (a choice I am very pleased with). Green Duncan Kerr will chair the Audit Committee with Labour’s Kate Halliday as vicechair.
I can’t emphasise enough how different this approach is. The former Conservatives ran an exclusive club. We will run an inclusive council.
It was not all smooth going appointing the committee chairs and vicechairs. When Reform leader Dawn Husemann was put forward as vicechair of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Green Duncan Kerr asked if she would do equality snd diversity training because that was important for the committee. After a pause when Reform members seemed to be consulting among themselves, her answer was “no”. Scrutiny’s task is to interrogate, challenge and advise but council decisions must respect the law regardless of political beliefs. Mandy Duncan, vicechair of People Overview and Scrutiny, also said, after more consultation, she would not do the training but would sign up to protecting looked after children. The latter is essential as all councillors are corporate parents and sign a Corporate Parenting Pledge.
There is much work to do and huge challenges ahead. I don’t underestimate the mountain we have to climb. But for the first time in a long while, I am feeling enthusiastic about going to council meetings.