Collaboration will be the buzzword at Lichfield District Council as members prepare to move into new territory following the local elections.
The local authority’s move to no overall control by one single party has led to much uncertainty as to how the new make-up will work.
With the Conservatives holding 23 seats – one short of the 24 required for a full majority – while Labour have 17 and the Liberal Democrats seven, for the first time in decades the council is uncharted water.
The first meeting of the new look administration will take place this evening (23rd May) where residents may get insights on how the land will lie going forward as the parties look to find a collaborative way to work.
Ahead of this, Lichfield Live asked the three party leaders for their views on how they hope to see the coming years pan out in the council chamber.
Doug Pullen (Conservatives)
“The Conservative group remains the largest group by some margin and while it’s clearly a full council decision as to who leads, I’m hopeful that I will continue as leader.
“There’s a good track record of councillors from different political parties working together on mutual ambitions at Lichfield District Council and I am absolutely certain that councillors will continue to work constructively over the coming months.
“If elected leader, I and my group will be looking to our colleagues around the chamber to support us on the delivery of our manifesto commitments, but also acknowledge that there may be elements important to the other parties which we ought to incorporate into our ambitious work programme.
“On a personal level, getting both the cinema and leisure centre open and for work to get underway on the Birmingham Road site is of vital importance, as is bringing forward the Lichfield to Chasewater Greenway.
“Getting our housing mix right across the district – with an appropriate and enforceable design code – will be critical in ensuring that we grow at a pace which protects the character of Lichfield while ensuring future generations have housing opportunities close by.
“The Birmingham Road site is likely to generate a significant surplus and this money will be used to begin investing at a larger scale in not just Burntwood, but right across the district too.
“While it’s uncharted waters for us on a political level, I have every confidence that councillors from across the political spectrum will continue to work together to improve our communities.”
Sue Woodward (Labour)
“The political make-up of Lichfield District Council throws up some real challenges for the new council, but also real opportunities for alternative voices to make themselves heard.
“I for one am excited about the possibilities for the year ahead.
“In 2019, Conservatives had a majority of over 20. They could ignore what opposition councillors suggested – and they often did. That simply can not happen any more as Labour and Lib Dems together can oppose proposals that don’t reflect what our electors want.
“It keeps us all on our toes, making sure that we turn up to meetings well-prepared and don’t just vote along with your own gang.
“Opposition members have always worked hard to try to amend decisions and have been successful on occasions, but the numbers have been against us for the last 24 years.
“The biggest change of culture now needs to be in the Conservative group. They will need to listen to the other parties and local residents more. This is likely to improve the council’s reputation in the future and might well save council tax-payers’ money.”
Paul Ray (Liberal Democrats)
“It seems that despite losing their majority the Conservatives will continue to run Lichfield District Council. We are extremely disappointed about this and that Labour did not open discussions with us to see if we could put arrangements in place to support a Labour-led administration.
“We see this as a huge missed opportunity considering that the major point that came up time and time again on the doorstep was that it was time for change.
“I appreciate that an arrangement between the Lib Dems and Labour would have had its challenges as that would have meant that there was just a one councillor majority. However, we were prepared to try and make that work so that our community could have had a council with a fresh approach.
“But we are now where we are and as Lib Dem councillors our commitment to residents is that we will be a vocal opposition and at same time work collaboratively with both other parties for the best of our community.
“We will also act responsibly. We appreciate that our votes in the council may be significant in the future. We will use those responsibly to try and avoid deadlock because we appreciate that the council needs to operate for the good of all residents – but that is provided we do see change.
“The Conservative councillors and their leader Cllr Doug Pullen need to know that we need change. This new council cannot just continue with the same direction and policies as it has in the past.
“Our priorities are getting the key projects – cinema, Friarsgate and the leisure centre – progressing and quickly. And we need to see change with the priorities that we campaigned and were elected on such as improved infrastructure, more affordable housing, better leisure facilities for all, bringing more employment to Lichfield and Burntwood and specific policies to deal with the climate change emergency.
“There has to be change. It can’t just be business as usual.”
