New 'ambitious' Flintshire Council coalition announced

Labour’s Dave Hughes took the helm a fortnight ago after replacing Ian Roberts, who resigned following a backlash over plans to introduce three-weekly black bin collections.

Labour’s 29 councillors previously ruled the local authority with the help of six members of the Eagle independent group headed by Arnold Woolley.

Cllr Hughes has now moved to also bring 16 members of the council’s largest independent group, who until recently served as the main opposition, into the administration.

The Llanfynydd councillor announced the agreement this afternoon (Monday, 7 September) which will see the number of Labour-held cabinet seats drop from seven to six, with the two independent camps each taking two.

The council’s remaining opposition members have slammed the deal, accusing Cllr Hughes of assembling a “bunch of misfits” to share the blame for unpopular decisions.

However, the Labour leader said building a consensus would be important as the authority looks to tackle an estimated budget gap of £38.4m for the next financial year.

Cllr Hughes said: “It is an honour to be elected leader of Flintshire County Council and confirm the new, ambitious cabinet.

“With the support of the Independent Group and the Eagles, together we will work to drive this council forward during challenging times.

“We are committed to putting our residents at the heart of everything we do for Flintshire, and I want to see this council speak with a strong, united voice.

“Like every council in Wales, we are facing significant budget pressures, but I believe this cabinet will give us the very best opportunity to succeed.”

Cllr Chris Bithell (second left) and Cllr Christine Jones (third left) have kept their cabinet roles Cllr Christine Jones (Lab) will remain as deputy leader with responsibilities for social services and wellbeing.

She will serve alongside newly appointed deputy leader, Helen Brown, who heads up the Independent Group, and will oversee the housing and communities portfolio.

Cllr Brown said: “I am looking forward to working within cabinet in such challenging times and to be committed collectively to achieving the very best we can for the people of Flintshire.”

Labour councillors Chris Bithell, Paul Johnson and Linda Thomas will retain their current cabinet posts for planning, finance and corporate services respectively, with Eagle member Mared Eastwood keeping her education role.

Cllr Glyn Banks, who recently returned to Labour from the independents, will become portfolio holder for streetscene and transportation, while Eagle councillor Chris Dolphin will be the new lead for economy.

Meanwhile, Richard Jones (Ind) is set to take on a new post responsible for transformation and assets.

Cllr Arnold Woolley, leader of the Eagles, said: “I commend Councillor Hughes’ efforts to include a broad spectrum of councillors in his new cabinet.

“His desire to put the needs of the population of Flintshire first is to be approved.”

Cllr Hughes used his maiden speech last month to highlight the significant financial issues the council is facing.

He said this could potentially result in the authority being forced to issue a section 114 notice, effectively declaring itself bankrupt, and called for “more harmony” between councillors.

But the leader of a five-strong bloc of former Labour members has described the new coalition agreement as “a stunt”.

Cllr Sam Swash, who heads up the Flintshire People’s Voice (FPV) group, said: “This new coalition administration has been desperately cobbled together because the council leader, Dave Hughes, has convinced himself that he's going to bankrupt the council under his leadership, and he wants to share the blame across the chamber.

“We're frankly amazed that the independents have fallen for this stunt.

“The question now is how many of Labour's failures, like three weekly bins, the future of Aura, and the financial black hole, all of which the independent leadership have rightly criticised, that they now pivot to blindly supporting now that they're being rewarded with cabinet salaries.”

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Meanwhile, Andrew Parkhurst, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “Flintshire deserves better than a cabinet cobbled together from a bunch of misfits, some of whom only a few weeks ago were vehemently opposing the policies they will now have to implement.

“With the council facing unprecedented budget pressures, effective scrutiny by a principled opposition is all the more important, which is what the Lib Dems will continue to provide.”

As well as FPV (five) and the Lib Dems (three), there are also seven independent councillors listed on the authority’s website as either non-aligned or “unattached” and one Conservative member, who will sit together in opposition.