Council changes hands for first time since 2007 after resignations

LABOUR has taken control of South Derbyshire District Council after fallouts in the Conservatives led to a split and the Tory leader resigning.

The council has been in turmoil after a flurry of exits from the Conservative Group, including the resignation of its leader. Labour, as the biggest single group, have taken control for the first time since 2007.

Councillor Kevin Richards, Labour member for Newhall and Stanton, is the new authority leader until at least the end of April.

The Labour group also now has more councillors than any other single party on each of the council committees. But if the Tories and the Independent Group were to vote together they could defeat Labour.

Three Conservatives resigned earlier this year: Hilton Cllr Jason Whittenham in January, Hilton Cllr Andy Billings in April and Seales Cllr Andrew Brady in October. They have not explained why.

In December 8, six Conservatives had left the Tory Group to sit as a new body of independents. Then Cllr Amy Wheelton, Conservative member for Seales, had been temporarily suspended from the party, and would also not say why and sits as a non-affiliated councillor.

On January 7, Cllr Martyn Ford, leader of the authority and Conservative Group leader since 2018, resigned. Repton Cllr Andrew Churchill, a newbie to the authority in 2019, is the Tories’ new leader.

It was also revealed that Cllr Pegg, a former Conservative turned independent, had joined the Labour group. This leaves the authority’s make-up as follows: Labour, 15 councillors; Conservatives, 12 councillors, Independent Group, five; three vacancies and one unaffiliated.

At the meeting, Councillor Martin Fitzpatrick, who represents Melbourne, resigned from his role as the authority’s deputy leader. He is the leader of the new Independent Group, with Councillor David Angliss his deputy.