CONSERVATIVES TAKE CONTROL AS FOUR COUNCILLORS SWITCH SIDES
Independents move creates overall majority
FOUR independent councillors on Newcastle Borough Council have joined the Conservatives – giving the Tories an overall majority on the authority for the first time in decades.
Mayor Ken Owen and Bert Proctor, who were Borough Independents, along with Newcastle Independents Gary White and Simon White, simultaneously announced they would be switching to the council’s ruling Conservative group.
This means the Tories now hold 23 of 44 seats on the council, which had been in no overall control since 2015.
While the independents had previously backed the Conservatives on key votes, including at the annual budget-setting meetings, there was no formal coalition.
Gary White, Simon White and Bert Proctor were also crucial in reelecting Conservative group leader Simon Tagg as leader of the council in 2018. Mr Tagg won by a single vote.
Since then the Tories had been running the authority as a minority administration with the support of the independents.
Mr Tagg said: “I am really pleased to welcome Ken Owen, Audley councillor Bert and Madeley councillors Gary and Simon to the Conservative Group.
“Each are excellent local councillors and community champions and will add strength to the Conservative group.”
Mr Owen, councillor for Holditch & Chesterton, said: “The Conservatives are showing strong leadership and direction on big issues such as with the stink from Walleys Quarry and the regeneration of our town.”
Gary White said: “We are really pleased to be joining the Conservative group at a time when they have demonstrated some real successes in winning the confidence of central government and being awarded significant funding to drive our towns forward.”
Newcastle’s Conservative MP Aaron Bell added: “I’m delighted that these four councillors have joined the Conservative group on the council, strengthening our team as we prepare for borough elections next May.”
But Labour group leader Mike Stubbs said: “It was only a matter of time before the ‘independents’ signed up as fully fledged Tories.
“They have consistently voted for every cut, every closure and every tax rise proposed by Newcastle’s Tory-run council. The residents of Madeley, Chesterton and Audley are about to face the biggest squeeze on their living costs on a generation,
with every worker being stung by a National Insurance rise and every pensioner losing the triple lock. ”
The borough council now has 23 Conservative councillors, 18 Labour councillors and two Liberal Democrats. A by-election in Knutton will be held on November 25, but the Conservatives will retain their overall majority regardless of the result.