Five Year Council Coalition Comes To An End

The Labour Group on Swale Borough Council have confirmed that the five year coalition has come to an end with the council now becoming a hung Council with Labour Leadership.

The Labour group have said "it is time to agree that the coalition has played its part but it is time to move on to a more representative and inclusive form of decision making".

The Leader of the group, and Leader of the Council, Tim Gibson, told SFM News: "I met my group on Tuesday (17th December) and we decided that with the recent departure of the Green Party, which follows that of the Liberal Democrats last year and the merging of the two Independent groups, what we are left with is not a fair cross section of the councillors who the public elected. With the co-operation of other parties we would like to see the key chairmanships in the Council shared across all groups based on their relative strengths, and not to confine those positions to only three parties".

Cllr Gibson went on to add: "This is not a time for disappointment but a time to go forward, recognising that the coalition period has led to a better kind of politics. What was a 5 group partnership is now only 2 and that is not a fair reflection of public support. Over the last five years the coalition has provided stability and change and we can go forward from that if all groups show mutual respect for our real role, to foster the community of Swale. With the ending of the coalition, we ask all leaders to work together now for the people of Swale at a time of great challenge to local government".

He also added: "In the spirit of a Labour leadership working across groups for the good of Swale, I feel it is not appropriate any longer to have the Leader of any of the other parties providing my Deputy. Therefore as Leader I have asked Cllr Ashley Wise, who represents Kemsley ward, to be Deputy and he has agreed".