THE GREEN Party and the Labour Party have jointly formed an administration on Warwick District Council.
The Greens won 14 seats at the local council elections on May 4, becoming the largest party. Labour came second with 11 seats.
But 23 seats are needed for a majority so the council remained in no overall control.
The Conservatives, who previously led a minority administration alongside Whitnash residents association, saw 13 councillors lose their seats leaving the party with just six.
It was therefore all eyes on what would happen next, with the Greens set to head negotiations. And at the annual meeting of WDC last night (Wednesday) it was decided that the party would form a coalition with Labour.
At the same meeting Coun Ian Davison, of the Green Party, was unanimously elected leader and Labour’s Chris King will be deputy leader.
Coun Davison said that stabilising the council’s finances was a top priority.
He continued: “The previous Conservative administration have left a significant financial black hole without a plan to balance the budget. Green and Labour will work together to put the finances back on an even keel through sensible, evidence based long term decision making. We will also prioritise reducing energy bills for residents and the council with insulation and energy generation.”
Coun King added: “We will work hard in the coming years to improve services like rubbish collection, flytipping and planning enforcement.
Despite the best efforts of our excellent staff the number of vacancies we have means the council is not currently providing the level of service that residents deserve and expect.
“We will also develop a local plan that is ambitious in creating affordable, healthy places to live with good facilities, while prioritising building on brownfield sites.”
Both parties also committed to work together to address the climate and ecological emergencies, particularly by supporting community groups and residents to improve their own local green spaces and environment.
A total of nine councillors will sit on the WDC’s cabinet – five Green and four Labour.
A spokesperson for Warwick and Leamington Conservative Association said election day had been a tough day for many colleagues.
The spokesperson continued: “Some have been serving councillors for many years, providing wonderful service to their residents.
Well done to our six candidates who were appointed as councillors. All candidates worked very hard in their campaigns and in their areas. They provided positive politics throughout the campaign.
“Well done to all the candidates across the district and good luck to all, especially those who have become councillors for the first time, the real work starts now.”
