Council still does not have leader after six weeks

Calls have been made for a new city council leader to be chosen, following six weeks without one.

Gloucester City Council's leader Jeremy Hilton was voted out of his leadership position in September following a motion of no confidence. There has since been a stalemate as to who will replace him, meaning council officers are in charge of the day-to-day running of the authority.

Councillor Rebecca Trimnell said the authority needed "effective decision-making, political oversight and a shared commitment" amid a time of financial pressures.

Council officers said the authority was operating as normal and continued to support residents and businesses.

The local authority is made up of 17 Liberal Democrats, 10 Conservatives, seven Labour councillors, four Community Independents and one Independent Conservative.

No party has a majority on the council, meaning the different parties have to work together.

The Liberal Democrats ran a minority administration for two years before a motion was put forward calling for Hilton's departure.

The motion's success led to the resignation en masse of the Lib Dem cabinet and the authority has been leaderless ever since.

Opposition councillors have not put forward an alternative nomination for leader as they said they would rather another member of the Liberal Democrat party take over the role, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But the The Lib Dems have argued the other groups should "have the courage of their conviction" and form an administration.

Timnell, who is the Lib Dem councillor for Westgate, has now said the local authority's group leaders should "work constructively across party lines to establish stable and effective leadership as quickly as possible" to ensure residents have an authority which is "fully equipped" to serve them.

Conservative councillor Stephanie Chambers said she and other group leaders were meeting council managing director John McGinty weekly while he uses emergency powers to take decisions, with matters reserved to full council remaining for councillors to decide.

However, she said consultation was not a substitute for elected political leadership.

"With major decisions ahead on the airport sale, scaling back the corporate plan and preparing a workable budget, this leadership vacuum needs to end," she said.

Chambers added that councillors were "willing to work together with all parties on a fresh start" following the vote against Hilton.

Community Independents group leader Alastair Chambers said several options had been discussed and his position was "any support must be about meaningful change, restoring confidence and putting Gloucester residents first".

The Liberal Democrat and Labour groups declined to comment.

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