Kirklees council leader Cathy Scott to face no confidence vote after shock party exit

A vote of no confidence is to be taken against the Leader of Kirklees Council, Cllr Cathy Scott, at next Wednesday’s full council meeting.

The motion has been put forward by members of the local authority’s Labour group. In total 23 of those members have been named - representing a third of the council and the number required to bring about a vote of no confidence.

The motion reads: “We, as signatories, call for a Vote of No Confidence to remove the current Leader of the Council under section 7.6.1 of the Council's Constitution.

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“We believe that the current Leader and their new group have no legitimate mandate from this Council or from the people of Kirklees. Leadership from this small and newly formed minority party is not sustainable.

“We therefore resolve to see the current Leader removed from office and for a new Leader be properly elected by this Council.”

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Councillor Scott, who was previously Leader of the council’s Labour group, announced her shock departure from the Labour Party at May’s Annual Council meeting.

The councillor said the party was "moving further away from her values" and she continued on as Leader of the Council, but as an independent.

The councillor’s resignation from the Labour Party came soon after a leadership challenge within the local group, which resulted in Cllr Carole Pattison being selected as the new leader.

Since then, Cllr Scott has formed the Kirklees Community Alliance, with other former Labour councillors - Masood Ahmed, Yusra Hussain, Paul Moore, Adam Zaman and Habiban Zaman. Of these members, four make up Kirklees Council's Cabinet.

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Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Councillor Scott hit back at the claim that she has no legitimate mandate from the council or people of Kirklees, describing it as “absolute nonsense”.

She said the council’s Labour group needs to “stop their tittle-tattle and focus on the people of Kirklees”. She said: “I am elected leader of the council by councillors in this chamber. If they are challenging, that’s their prerogative.”

Cllr Scott reiterated her stance that Kirklees Council’s governance needed a “new generation”, with cross-party collaboration and no affiliation to one political party. The councillor also said she wants to retain her leadership and the current cabinet.

For Cllr Scott to lose her position as Leader, a majority of the council will have to vote in favour at the full council meeting next week.

If this happens, a new Leader of the Council will have to be elected at the same meeting, according to the council's constitution.