City council fails to elect a new leader after hours of deadlock

Cambridge City Council were deadlocked with only Labour putting forward a nominee

Cambridge City Council has failed to elect a new leader at their annual meeting after hours of discussion. It was the first council meeting following the May 7 local election which saw council leader Cameron Holloway lose his seat as Labour lost six seats to the Green Party.

Labour put forward their new leader, Cllr Katie Thornburrow, to lead the council but the motion was defeated by 23 votes to 17. No other candidates for leader were nominated.

The Green Party and Liberal Democrats voted against her appointment and a recess was called for the parties to discuss with each other. The Local Democracy Service understands the Green Party had agreed to support Labour’s pick but, when the crucial vote came, voted against her.

The elected leader will be in control of the council at a time when preparations are being made for huge changes as a result of local government reorganisation. This will see an end to the current two-tier system with councils responsibilities split between county and district level.

Cambridge City Council will be combined with surrounding councils into a single unitary authority which could lead to huge changes in the political landscape. The latest local election saw South Cambridgeshire District Council elect a Liberal Democrat candidate for every seat except two. A recess of half an hour was called – but it went on for around two hours.

When councillors returned, Cllr Thornburrow was again the only nomination, and the result of the vote was the same – meaning the vote was adjourned for the day.

Cllr Mike Davey said he was “puzzled” as to why after ten days of discussion they were “then taking another ten days to discuss further”.

Cllr Mike Todd-Jones said: “We are here to serve the people of Cambridge – not engage in party politics, please can we sort this out.”

Cllr Gerri Bird said: “I’ve been a councillor for many years and I’m really sad.

“We are not thinking of our residents – our residents are the most important thing, not us as councillors. Our residents are the ones we should be looking after. It is so so sad and I hope everyone feels the same way.”

Cllr Tim Bick, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “I intend to keep my language about this as uninflammatory as we can, because I don’t think it’s helpful at the moment.

“There have been discussions going on over the past ten days. I have been part of that process and my group has made very clear the approach they would have to the running of the council.

“We are three progressive parties in a progressive city – this should not be something which is beyond resolve. I think what we’ve heard from the party opposite is a pity. It presupposes that the party used to running this council, continues to run it. I think that in order to get a different solution, and perhaps a better solution, is to allow time to see if that can be arrived at.”

Cllr Thornburrow suggested that either Cllr Bick, or the leader of the Green group, Cllr Naomi Bennett, put their names forward.

She said: “We are prepared to be in opposition and we would still work constructively and collaboratively to do the best for our council and our residents. We are prepared to work – we have proposed a way to work, you need to propose a way.”

Newly-elected Green Cllr Sefira Davison said she “welcomed the remarks” of Cllr Bick “that this is not a crisis and we are in a comparatively normal timeline”.

She criticised the “frantic energy” from an “awful lot of people” and said: “I can certainly tell you when I speak to someone who’s very keen to rush me into a deal because we absolutely have to get it right this second – I’m either about to walk away or about to lose a lot of money.”

The council adjourned to meet again at 6pm on June 1 to elect a new leader.