FOR the first time in more than 20 years, Wokingham councillors are set to approve a Liberal Democrat-run administration, Wokingham Today can reveal.
Following the party’s success in the local elections earlier this month, it has agreed in principle a partnership agreement with Labour and the two independent councillors to give a working majority, which will be voted on at a council meeting to be held on Thursday, May 19.
Liberal Democrat leader Clive Jones says that the groups had agreed to work together, but it will be a partnership and not a coalition.
Under the agreement, the Lib Dems will form a ruling executive, but pledged that the council committees would be chaired by a mixture of groups to ensure equality.
How can the Lib Dems form an administration?
The Conservatives lost five seats on May 5, giving them 26 places on Wokingham Borough Council – one short of a majority. While there had been speculation that the party could continue to rule as a minority party, its leader John Halsall stepped down last week and will formally resign as leader on Thursday.
A vote of no confidence will then be held, which the opposition parties are expected to win, and the Conservatives will no longer run the council.
This will mean the Lib Dems, with 23 councillors, can take control, as they will have the support of the other groups under their partnership agreement.
However, the vote of no confidence might not be needed as, without support from other parties, the Conservatives are unable to command a majority in the council chamber.
On Thursday evening, “we will do everything technically necessary” Cllr Jones says. “It is a process we have to go through”.
As to whether the Conservatives would try to form an administration, he says: “They may well try, but all 28 of us (opposition councillors) have agreed to a partnership memorandum, so I don’t see it falling apart.”
It won’t be a coalition, or a pact … it’s a partnership
One thing that Cllr Jones is clear about is that this is not a formal coalition arrangement, so Labour and the independent councillors will not be on the new executive. However, by signing the memorandum, they have an agreement in place that they say will help form a strong administration for the benefit of residents.
“It will be a Liberal Democrat-run administration,” Cllr Jones says. “It is in no way a coalition. It’s a partnership agreement.
“We will be talking with other councillors all the the time, trying to use the best talent for Wokingham Borough.”
What it will mean
“All three groups have agreed to the principle of executive governance of Wokingham Borough Council,” explains Cllr Clive Jones.
“We will be working together. It is a partnership that is based on fairness, trust and openness.
“We commit to enable and support services to residents, communities and businesses in Wokingham borough.”
Cllr Jones said that the Labour councillors and the independents would not sit on the ruling executive, but pledge to ensure the council is run with transparency in mind.
“We will not hide anything from other groups,” he says.
Much of the council’s business is conducted during the committee stage – overview and scrutiny groups. It is expected that the chairing will be shared among the parties.
Council finances
An example of this new approach will be with the budget. The Lib Dems and the Conservatives have argued over the debt levels in recent years. If the Lib Dems take control on Thursday night, they will be able to explore the situation in a way they were unable to do so when they were in opposition.
“We will get a true picture of the debt levels over the next few weeks so we can understand the financial situation the borough council is in. We are not expecting to see a fantastic set of books,” Cllr Jones says.
“There are going to be many different issues coming up, but we will run the council as carefully and efficiently as we can.
“It’s what residents of Wokingham voted for overwhelmingly in the local elections.”
How did this partnership come together?
Cllr Jones said there were some ‘what if?’ conversations before the local elections, but serious conversations didn’t start until after the local election results had been declared.
“I think we realised quite quickly that this was something we wanted to do,” he said.
The groups felt they could quite comfortably work together in this way, as it kept their independence while also serving residents, and bringing about the changes they feel the council chamber needs.
“We really do need to start doing things differently,” Cllr Jones says.
“The partnership is very exciting, for all of us,” he continues. “It’s very daunting and a huge challenge. There are some big issues to come up.”
But, he adds, “we have been getting on so well, there is so much we’re going to be able to agree on.
“It’s been really refreshing, we’ve been able to find a lot of common ground.
“We really want to change the way the council is run, and change the culture.”
What about those who think the Lib Dems will make a bad job of running the council?
“I’m confident we won’t muck it up,” says Cllr Jones. “A lot of us (in the group) have business experience, I’m very confident we’ll do a good job.
“We’ll be responsible.”
An example, he says, will be running “proper consultations” rather than making posts on social media, or sending out letters to selected residents.
“We also want to make our overview and scrutiny procedures work,” he says.
“We also hope the Conservatives will be a responsible opposition, I’m sure most of the councillors will want to do that. But I understand that after 20 years in control of the council, it will be difficult for some of them to adjust, especially if they expect to be continuing in power.”
For more on this developing story, don’t miss Thursday’s print edition of Wokingham Today.
