Friday brief: ‘We need policies that are made in West Northamptonshire, not in Westminster’ Reform UK council told
Opposition refuse to support new West unitary’s Reform UK leader, plus a selection of news from across the county
Reform UK’s takeover of West Northamptonshire Council has not been met with approval by opposition parties who refused last night to support the appointment of the new leader.
Lack of a manifesto and identifiable policies were reasons given by Labour’s new leader Sally Keeble for not backing the appointment of Cllr Mark Arnull to the leadership role.
At the annual meeting, where Arnull was elected to the position by his party, Cllr Keeble said:
“The leader of Reform was selected by his party, which, yes indeed, won the elections and we congratulate you on that.
“However, normally with a party leader comes a party manifesto and in this instance it has not been forthcoming.
“What we have seen are a very few spartan pledges- cut the waste, scrap net zero, stop the boats. Stop the boats is indeed a very catchy pledge, but it is not in the gift of this council to fulfil.
“We need policies that are made in West Northamptonshire, not in Westminster and made by the leader of the council and his team in the best interests of the public. We urge you to come forward very quickly with the details of the policy.”
After a vote, 39 councillors, presumably all Reform UK, supported Cllr Arnull’s appointment, with 31 abstentions.
Leader of the Conservative opposition, Cllr Dan Lister, also spoke out:
“Leadership is both an honour and a burden and today that burden rests solely upon your shoulders.
“You inherit a council in good health, with improved services, sound finances, efficiency savings made and praise by the local government association. Your election shows the public’s appetite for fresh ideas, yet brings the weight of untested promises.
“The public demands honesty, not illusions, results, not rhetoric. The opposition will remain vigilant, ready to support genuine progress and to defend our constituents against under-expectations.”
A further warning was made by Cllr Jonathan Harris, Lib Dem leader, who welcomed new members to a world of public service and governance. He made specific reference to the 2010 Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on protected characteristics such as race, gender, sexuality and disability.
He said:
“This duty requires councillors to eliminate discrimination, advance equality and foster good relations- this is a legal requirement. Weaponising difference, demonising diversity and scapegoating ‘the other’ is deeply destructive and will be called out.
“What’s been promised? As has been said, we still don’t really know. Empty unachievable promises will fall like a pack of cards when they cannot be delivered- this is not a game. We are collectively responsible for children’s lives, people’s livelihoods and the care of thousands of adults.
“People want their lives to improve, not entrenched political dogma that will serve no one.”
In response Cllr Arnull said:
“I can assure you that I have a formidable team on my administration here. We’ve listened heartfelt to members of the public on the doors, we’ve worked very hard over the last couple months to find ourselves here today.
“I do have a manifesto in the form of a contract for the people that is available on the Reform UK website. You may refer to many a national issue, but our campaign on the door when we spoke to people time and time again was the same simple message, ‘we’ve not heard anybody from the other political parties coming around speaking to us’.
“What we will do is put local politics back in control of the local people. We will bring a new approach to politics that has not been seen in this area for a very long time and I look forward to delivering a formidable government.”
All of the Reform UK group are first time unitary councillors. Arnull is a former chef and works in events management.
Of the 76 councillors sitting on WNC, 42 are Reform, 17 are Conservative, nine are Labour, six are Liberal Democrats, and two are Independent.
Report by Nadia Lincoln and Sarah Ward
This morning the WNC media team released the following information about the new cabinet:
Cllr James Petter – Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Local Economy, Culture & Leisure.
James has lived in Hunsbury, Northampton for over 30 years where he raised his family. He has a strong business background with more than 40 years of experience across a range of sectors including retail and logistics, having also run his own business. Placing West Northamptonshire on the map as a prime destination for visitors, businesses and investment will be a key focus for James in his new remit.
Cllr Kathryn Ann Shaw – Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education.
A lifelong Northampton resident, Kathryn brings extensive experience in therapeutic intervention and community engagement, with a professional background in hypnotherapy, EMDR, and trauma-informed care, and a particular focus on early intervention, mental health, and innovative educational support. Her appointment reflects a deep commitment to reshaping care systems to better serve vulnerable families and promote long-term resilience.
Cllr Andrew Last – Cabinet Member for HR & Corporate Services.
Andrew fell for Brackley and its surrounding countryside while serving at RAF Greatworth. Leaving the RAF, Andrew returned to the area with his wife, and family. With a successful career in Information Technology, Cyber Security and Project Management, Andrew brings a wealth of expertise to the table and an ability to cultivate relationships with stakeholders at all levels will be invaluable in representing the interests of residents and ensuring their voices are heard.
Cllr John Slope – Cabinet Member for Finance.
John moved to the West Northants when he was four, initially living in Duston and then Moulton for over 40 years. His extensive career in the sales and logistics sectors included managing operations and running his own logistics consultancy, with strong financial knowledge. John is looking forward to focusing on tackling local government’s ongoing financial challenges and delivering value for money for West Northants residents.
Cllr Laura Couse – Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Public Health & Regulatory Services
Laura has lived in Northampton for over 20 years with a strong background in the health and wellbeing sector, running her own clinical therapy business helping people struggling with lymphoedema and lipoedema. She has also worked previously as a live-in carer providing palliative care, and also runs a local support group for people with lymphoedema and lipoedema. Laura is passionate about working to bridge the gaps in health and wellbeing services and further developing community and health cross working.
Cllr Richard Butler – Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport.
Brackley born and raised, Richard has served as a town councillor for 10 years and looks forward to his new role representing residents on WNC. He has more than 50 years experience in transport sectors including the motor industry and container shipping, as well as sales and business acquisition.
Cllr Nigel Stansfield – Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Waste
Father-of-three Nigel lives in Spinney Hill and has been a West Northants residents for over 35 years. He has previously served on Grange Park parish Council for 10 years and has a particular interest in environmental affairs, planning to focus in his remit at WNC on tackling issues like littering, flytipping and graffiti and encouraging a pride of place ethos within local communities.
Cllr Thomas Manning – Cabinet Member for Planning and Communities.
Thomas is Northampton born and raised, having also studied at Moulton College and the University of Northampton. For the past 18 years he has worked on housing, commercial and infrastructure projects from the planning stages through to completion.
Cllr Charlie Hastie – Cabinet Member for Housing
Charlie lives in Moreton Pinkney having returned to West Northants 12 years ago having lived abroad in places including the USA and Canada, where he holds dual citizenship. Currently self-employed in the sports branding sector, his extensive career includes a City background and working in the Metropolitan Police. Charlie is particularly passionate about ending homelessness and making sure housing, planning and welfare services work together so there is an effective safety net for the most vulnerable within our communities.
News in brief:
A Northampton childminder jailed for hateful tweets following the Southport murders, appeared at the court of appeal this week to ask judges to re-examine her prison sentence.
Lucy Connolly, who given a two year, seven month jail sentence for her tweet last July in which she wrote:
“Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.” She deleted the tweet three days later.
The appeal court did not make a decision and will issue a written decision soon.
Connolly, whose husband Ray was a West unitary councillor, has become a poster child for right wing free speech commentators, who say she should not have been punished for her tweet. A number of high profile media personalities were at the court of appeal to support her.
A Lib Dem who quit local politics due to public ridicule over his stammer is returning to fight in the Higham Ferrers election.
Chris Nelson quit after making public the abuse he had suffered over a number of election attempts. Now he is returning in the June 12 election, which was postponed when candidate John Ratcliffe sadly died in the days before the local elections. Two seats in the ward are being contested.
Chris said:
“I am honoured to stand in the place of John Ratcliffe. John was a kind, warm and generous man, but Reform are proving themselves to be the exact opposite. I simply couldn't let the values he stood for go undefended.
“Higham Ferrers is a beautiful town that I know well, and I am determined it should be protected from Reform's extreme ideology. With everything from special educational needs and mental health support, to LGBT Pride and precious community groups under threat, nothing seems safe from their chopping block. It is the vulnerable, not the powerful, who will pay the price.
“I did not expect to be standing again so soon after the abuse that I experienced, yet I cannot remain silent when the soul of our community is at stake.
“In place of Reform's anger and division, I believe that Britain is at its strongest when we work together. I have faith in the compassionate community that Higham Ferrers already has and will do my utmost to protect it.”
The other candidates in the election are: Gerard Kelly (Green), Zara Cunliffe, Helen Willmot (both Labour), Mark Haddon, Elisa Perna (both Reform UK), Jennie Bone (Conservative), Peter Tomas and Jay Connolly (both Independent).
Read an interview with Chris about what it feels like to live with a stammer.
West Northamptonshire Council has had to pay bills of almost £170,000 after it lost an appeal over a large new warehouse development on the edge of a town.
Planning committee members were originally recommended by officers to approve the plans for the 32-hectare DHL employment site, just north of Towcester. The community’s strength of feeling, which saw more than 1,100 letters of objections and over 100 people attend the September 2024 planning meeting in protest, encouraged councillors to go against recommendations and throw out the project.
Developer DHL later decided to take the rejected plans to appeal, which led to the government’s planning inspectorate overturning the decision after a nine-day public inquiry.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) said it acted “overwhelmingly in the public interest” when fighting the appeal and that the large payment would be covered by its annual legal budget.
Barristers represented each of the three parties at the inquiry. According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the total cost of legal fees to the council has now been revealed as £169,999.53.
Report by Nadia Lincoln, local democracy reporter.
Anglian Water has been fined a record £1.42 million at Northampton Crown Court following a prosecution by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) for drinking water failures affecting around 1.3 million people.
Between June and December 2021, the company, which supplies water to hundreds of thousands of Northants residents, used unapproved materials at four separate sites across its network, which were installed into drinking water tanks.
Anglian Water reported the failures to the Drinking Water Inspectorate and pleaded guilty in court.
The DWI’s investigation found the company had repeatedly used unapproved plastic-based products to externally coat pipework submerged within their drinking water tanks. These coatings later broke down into flakes and powder which entered the water supply.
Marcus Rink, Chief Inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate said:
“Public health and drinking water quality must be the highest priority, and there can be no compromise.
“We’ve taken firm action in the public interest to ensure the company has removed all non-compliant material so that customers can remain confident in their water supplies.”
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Thanks Sid, as always