According to reports it seems that Leeds City council is about to come under Labour rule again as they Labour Group are have agreed to form a minority administration with Green Party councillors. This will replace the disastrous (in my humble opinion) Tory / Lib Dem coalition which has been supported by the rag bag group of Morley Borough Independents.
Here is the report from The Guardian online:-
Leeds council is set for new political rulers after the Leeds Labour group reached an agreement with the two-strong Green Party to form a minority adminstration, it has been announced.
After more than a week of tense negotiations, the Green's husband and wife team of David and Ann Blackburn have agreed a deal with Labour which will see them vote with the Labour group at key times, such as the budget, council AGM and votes of no confidence.
Labour has today written to the chief executive announcing that they intend to form a minority administration, supported by the Greens, which will see them take back control of the council from the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition that has run it for the past six years.
Councillor Keith Wakefield, leader of the Labour Group, said:
"I am delighted to announce that, following successful negotiations with the Green Group to secure their support on key issues, I have today advised Paul Rogerson, chief executive of Leeds council, that the Labour Group intends to take control of the council.
"At the recent local elections, the Labour Group gained four seats, making it overwhelmingly the largest political group. I believe it is our duty to take responsibility for the council on that basis.
"This is not a formal coalition, but we and the Green Group share several key aspirations for this city, and in particular, we look forward to working with them very closely on environmental issues."
Wakefield said this afternoon that he hoped the agreement would be formally ratified at the council AGM next Thursday, although there may yet be a challenge from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Details of the deal between Labour and the Greens will be revealed next week.
The agreement essentially gives the Labour and Greens control of the council by just one seat. However, if any of the Labour or Green councillors failed to attend next week's council AGM, they would not have enough votes to get council control.
No overall control from one party
Labour gained four seats in Leeds at the local elections 12 days ago - but the results left the council still under no overall control from any single political party.
Labour have 48 seats - two short of the 50 needed to take power. The Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Morley Borough Independent coalition, which has controlled the council since 2004 has 49 seats, leaving the two-strong Green Party in a position to take Labour into a position of control by voting with them on key issues.
The Labour-Green control is also dependent on Leeds's lord mayor exercising his right to vote at the council's AGM - this year the lord mayor is Labour's Jim McKenna. Traditionally the lord mayor does not take part in the voting, although legally there's nothing to say he can't.
Wakefield added:
"We are under no illusions that the year ahead will be a tough one, with difficult and sometimes painful decisions to be made in the face of massive cuts proposed by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.
"Our aim is to protect public services making sure the elderly, the young and the vulnerable get the care and support they need.
"Working with our partners, our priority now is to get people back into meaningful work through training and apprenticeships to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance to benefit from Leeds' success as the regional capital.
"In this context we will not forget that transport is a key issue for the city and the region, especially with regard to the New Generation Transport (NGT) proposals."
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