New Winchester City Council Leader: Cllr Martin Tod confirms his Cabinet
Following the local elections which took place on Thursday 5 May, the Liberal Democrats have confirmed their new Leader.
At the Annual Council meeting on Wednesday 18 May, Cllr Martin Tod was elected as the new Leader of the Council, having been proposed by former Leader Cllr Lucille Thompson. Cllr Tod then announced his Cabinet as follows; Cllr Paula Ferguson - Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community and Housing; Cllr Kelsie Learney - Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency; Cllr Lucille Thompson - Cabinet Member for Business and Culture; Cllr Margot Power- Cabinet Member for Finance and Value, Cllr Jackie Porter - Cabinet Member for Place and the Local Plan and Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith - Cabinet Member for Service Quality. The Leader confirmed he would take responsibility for Asset Management.
The news of the new Cabinet comes as Cllr Lucille Thompson announced her decision to step down after seven years as Liberal Democrat Group leader and three years as leader of Winchester City Council.
Cllr Thompson commented:
“I am very pleased to be proposing Martin as our new Leader. He has been a hard-working councillor in the city for many years and was the architect of our recent election victory. He also wrote the ambitious and positive manifesto that helped give us nine out of 14 seats in the election and maintain our control of the council.
“As a Cabinet colleague, Martin was responsible for delivering a whole range of initiatives including some of the fastest growing recycling levels in the country and the pedestrianisation of The Square.”
Cllr Tod said:
“We owe Lucille a huge amount for her leadership over the last seven years. She led the Liberal Democrats to control of the council – and after taking control, she led the council through the pandemic at the same time as it cut its carbon footprint by more than a third. Despite the challenges we face, the council has continued to deliver for local people while keeping Council Tax down.
“There are still major challenges ahead. We have said we will go greener, faster. We cannot be complacent about our economic recovery. The council needs to be efficient in keeping costs down. When many people are facing challenging times, we have to protect services that support the most vulnerable. And we need to listen better and work alongside the people and businesses of Winchester in tackling the challenges we face.
“I’m very grateful for the support of colleagues and Lucille especially in being proposed for this new role. If elected as Leader of the Council on Wednesday, I look forward to working with them and the dedicated staff at the council to deliver for the people of Winchester district.”
The Liberal Democrats have held onto their administration of the city council, with a majority of 12; 27 seats compared to 15 Conservative seats. The elections also saw the first Green Party councillor for the district with the election of Malcolm Wallace for Central Meon Valley. Two independent councillors also form part of the mix.