> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Labour insist they will continue to fight for Lichfield and Burntwood residents
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/labour-insist-they-will-continue-to-fight-for-lichfield-and-burntwood-residents/
- Published: 2015-08-07T07:30:52.000Z
- Updated: 2015-08-06T10:49:59.000Z
- Description: Labour have said they will continue to fight for the residents of Lichfield and Burntwood.
- Author: Lewis Deakin
- Tags: Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 20:42, News

Labour have said they will continue to fight for the residents of Lichfield and Burntwood.

The pledge comes after Conservative councillor Joseph Powell [said they could no longer set the agenda](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2015/07/22/conservative-councillor-says-opposition-cant-change-the-agenda/) at Lichfield District Council after winning just four seats at the local election.

[![Cllr Sue Woodward](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/18192178470_de6e8b3622_k.jpg)](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2015/06/04/labour-group-leader-hopes-more-women-councillors-will-get-senior-roles-in-future/18192178470%5Fde6e8b3622%5Fk/)

Cllr Sue Woodward

But the Labour leader at the local authority insisted the reduced group will not take a back seat in the decision-making process.

“We’re a much smaller group,” she said. “We’ve just four elected representatives on the council, and we know that we’re a minority group.

“But we’ve shown at council meetings that we are setting the agenda. For example as a group we have said that council scrutiny needs to be improved.

[![Cllr Joseph Powell](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/17759258053_349f59558a_z.jpg)](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2015/06/09/burntwood-councillor-spending-16000-on-chairmans-chauffeur-driven-car-is-crazy-in-times-of-austerity/17759258053%5F349f59558a%5Fz/)

Cllr Joseph Powell

“I’ve been encouraged by the enthusiasm of the younger politicians and those who have been on the council for a while to make scrutiny work properly. This means there will be more debates and critical observation of council decision making.”

Cllr Woodward also criticised Cllr Powell over his comments, suggesting he had failed to see the bigger picture of the role local representatives should play.

“He has missed the point of opposition, which is to make sure that the views of people who didn’t vote Tory are taken into account,” she said. “We’re not an opposition for opposition’s sake.

“We want to be a responsible group by pointing out to the Tories that there are different approaches.”