Make-up of Stroud District Council revealed after crunch meeting

THE Green Party now runs a minority administration at Stroud District Council with Catherine Braun re-elected as leader.

The Greens secured 22 of the 51 seats at Ebley Mill in the council elections on May 2.

Labour saw 20 of its candidates elected, while seven Conservatives secured a seat and two Lib Dems were elected.

Councillor Beki Aldam (G, Thrupp) proposed Cllr Braun (G, Wotton-under-edge) to be leader and Cllr Pete Kennedy (G, Painswick and Upton) to be her deputy at the annual council meeting on May 23.

This was seconded by Cllr Linda Cohen (LD, Wotton-under-Edge).

They were elected by 23 votes in favour with 23 abstentions.

On her election Cllr Braun said it has been the practice of all councillors to work collaborative on Stroud District Council and her group is very keen for this to continue.

She thanked the council for their support.

“The Green Party councillors are committed to working constructively with all councillors, regardless of political party, in the interests of the people of Stroud district,” she said.

“At the local election, we promised that we would work to restore trust in politics, and collaborative working is central to that pledge.

“As council leader for the past two years, I’ve found that by working in a cross-party way, we can generally agree with other councillors on the issues that matter, whether that’s investment in new social housing, action for climate and nature, or community initiatives to improve health and wellbeing.”

Cllr Braun said she is delighted to have such a fantastic team of Green councillors to form the new administration which includes councillors with great experience of their role, and others who bring fresh ideas for ways to improve services to our communities.

“Although the Green Group doesn’t have a majority on the council, we are now the largest political group, and by taking an inclusive approach, we commit to providing effective leadership for the district,” she said.

Cllr Kennedy, who is also the Green Party parliamentary candidate for the Stroud constituency, said he was honoured to have been elected as deputy leader.

“We are grateful to the tens of thousands of people who put their trust in the Green Party at the local elections, many of whom did so for the first time,” he said.

“We are committed to delivering on our manifesto commitments: warm and affordable homes; a clean and green district; thriving market towns and villages; public services that work; and restoring trust in politics.”

“We have a proud history of doing things differently in Stroud district. As a minority Green administration, we will provide clear political leadership of the council, while building cross-party consensus wherever possible.

“I want councillors from all parties to know that they can work with our Green leadership team and contribute fully in committee and council meetings.

“I believe the more we can all work together, the more we can achieve for the communities we are elected to serve.”

Cllr Kate Kay (G, Nailsworth) was elected chairman of the council with Cllr Matthew Sargeant (G, Painswick and Upton) taking the role of vice-chairman.

There is now a minority-led Green administration either side of the Severn in Gloucestershire.

The Forest of Dean District Council, which is also in a state of no overall control, has been led by Greens since last year’s local elections.

The Greens previously led the council at Ebley Mill in an alliance with former Labour Independent councillors and the Liberal Democrats.