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A Labour-independent coalition has taken control of Cheshire East Council – following the borough’s momentous election results.

Labour’s Sam Corcoran will head CEC’s first ever non-Conservative administration, after being elected leader during Wednesday’s annual council meeting.

This month’s elections saw the once-dominant Tories lose control of Cheshire East for the first time since the unitary authority was formed in 2009.

While the Conservatives remain the single largest group, with 34 councillors, they failed to retain their majority after losing 19 seats.

Labour and independent councillors agreed to form the new administration, with the aim of replacing the council’s current leader-and-cabinet system with a more traditional committee-based model next year.

The Conservatives’ loss of control came after the authority was hit by various scandals, which led to multiple police investigations, the resignation of former leader Michael Jones in 2015 and the departure of suspended senior officers, including former chief executive Mike Suarez.

Forty-three of the authority’s 82 councillors voted for Mr Corcoran as leader, including Labour, Lib Dem and independent members, with 25 voting for new Conservative leader Janet Clowes, who was proposed by her group.

While he was elected to serve a four-year term as council leader, Mr Corcoran vowed that he would give up power once the new governance arrangements are in place.

(Image: Kathie McInnes/StokeonTrentLive)

The Sandbach Heath and East councillor said: “There are two sayings that I would like to disprove during my term of office. Firstly: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And the second saying is that power is never given away, it has to be taken.

“I intend to give power away. I intend to see a committee system implemented next year.”

Mr Corcoran, who is a keen cellist, compared the various groups on the council to the sections of an orchestra, and stressed the need for all voices to be heard.

He said: "In an orchestra there are different sections with different behaviours: the brass and the strings for example. In the same way we have different political groupings. Nobody would expect a trumpeter to say the violin makes the nicest sound, and nobody would expect a Conservative to say Labour has the best policies. And yet the different sections of an orchestra work together to make music. This is how I would like to see Cheshire East politics work.

"A solo cello can sound good, but I prefer to listen to the complexity and harmony of a symphony orchestra.

"The brass and string sections tend not to mix but the brass section wants the strings to play their part well, and vice versa, even when the parts are playing different tunes. I may not agree with what other groups are saying, but I want you to put your arguments well, and with good grace. For the symphony to sound good, all parts must be played well."

Mr Corcoran appointed Alderley Edge First councillor Craig Browne as deputy leader. The new cabinet includes six Labour councillors and four independents.

Councillors voted in favour of a motion committing the authority to replacing leader-and-cabinet with a committee system, with the new arrangements to take effect from the beginning of 2020/21.

This will be subject to a ‘legally and constitutionally robust process’, led by the constitution committee and agreed by council.

Under leader-and-cabinet, executive power is concentrated in a small group of councillors from the ruling group, while under the committee system, a greater number of councillors from all groups are involved in decision-making.

Bollington First councillor James Nicholas, who proposed the motion, said: “The reason the independent group, with the support of Labour and Liberal Democrats, but most importantly the backing of the public, have campaigned for change is because we believe it is fundamentally wrong that only eight of the 82 councillors have ever been fully involved in the decision-making process. Even though the dynamics of this council dramatically changed on May 2, that principle remains.

"Last year members of the independent group met with the former leader of the council, asking her to support the change. The answer was effectively no, although she had previously expressed her desire to make the council more member-led and more transparent. This is something I wholeheartedly support, and this is the perfect opportunity to bring those qualities to our council.

"There is still a perception that CEC is lacking in openness and transparency. While Brexit has been blamed for the recent election rout, the reality is many of our residents have lost confidence and respect in their councillors. Residents want change, and there is a long-standing alternative available in the committee system."

Earlier in the meeting Handforth Ratepayers councillor Barry Burkhill was elected the Mayor of Cheshire East.

Liz Durham, who served as deputy mayor in 2018/19 and so was expected to become mayor this year, was among the Conservative councillors who lost their seats in the election. Conservative Steven Edgar was elected deputy mayor.

Following the elections, CEC now has 34 Conservative councillors, 25 Labour councillors, four Lib Dems and 19 others.

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