Opposition councillors have been handed chair roles across a number of Lichfield District Council committees.
The key appointments were made at the annual meeting of the local authority.
The council is currently in a state of no overall control, meaning no party has an overall majority.
As well as the re-election of the overall council chair, Labour also saw its councillors take the role on the audit, member standards, planning, regulatory and licensing and employment committees.
Cllr Sue Woodward, leader of the Labour opposition group, said:
“Since last May when voters returned a hung council, Labour has worked constructively with the Conservative administration to support decisions which we feel are good for the district as a whole and to challenge those that we feel are not.
“While the majority of Conservative members have understood what no overall control means, there are still some who have carried on business as usual as if they still had a clear overall majority.
“The penny has now well and truly dropped and I know the new chairs will do their very best for the benefit of our residents.”
Cllr Sue Woodward
The appointments were:
- Audit Committee – Chair: Cllr Paul Taylor (Labour)
- Member Standards Committee: Chair, Cllr John Smith (Lib Dem)
- Planning Committee – Chair: Cllr Rosie Harvey-Coggins (Labour)
- Regulatory & Licensing Committee: Chair, Cllr Diane Evans (Labour)
- Employment Committee: Chair, Cllr Sharon Banevicius (Labour)
Cllr Woodward added:
“Not since 1999, with Labour as the main opposition group, have we been able to win votes like these.
“While we’ve always worked hard for local people, we’ve been largely ignored by Conservative administrations with whopping majorities.
“We’ve waited 25years, a whole quarter of a century, to make this sort of impact and I am truly delighted.”
Cllr Sue Woodward
