Getting organised
The 27 Lib Dem councillors on Durham County Council held their first group meeting on Tuesday night and wasted no time (or aggro) in electing Nigel Martin as Liberal Democrat Group Leader, a role which he held in the previous council.
Nigel was obiously delighted to be leading this much bigger and stronger team, and committed us to being a vigorous and constructive opposition.
Our role is critical. Whilst there is only a small majority of eight for the Labour party on this council as a whole, the opposition outside the Liberal Democrats is fractured.
No doubt the 22 independent members will be committed to the needs of their immediate electorates, but it remains to be seen whether they can make common cause on the big issues that need to be tackled county-wide, from raising standards in education to creating a coherent industrial/commercial infra-structure, from developing a recycling strategy across the county to reducing health inequalities.
The Conservatives too (one of whom was elected as a “local Conservative”) remain an unknown quantity.
What that means is that it is up to Liberal Democrats to lead the thinking which will be required to ensure that the Labour Party is held to account in every area, and to the spirit of its unitary “bid” with its promise to devolve power to local communities. It’s an exciting challenge. Thanks to the electorate we have the team to meet it.
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