This follows the local elections that saw both the Liberal Democrats and the Labour groups increase their numbers by two, whilst the Conservatives lost ground, recording their worst result in Calderdale for over 13 years.

Cllr Janet Battye (Liberal Democrat, Calder) will become Leader of the Council and Cllr Tim Swift (Labour, Town) will become Deputy Leader. Both expressed their commitment to working together to promote a new way of running the Council that will involve more councillors, be more open to the wider community, and establish a new and more positive direction for the Council.
Cllr Battye:

Following the elections I have spoken to the leaders of all the other groups, but it became clear that the Conservatives were not willing to change the way the Council is run. We and the Labour group are agreed that significant changes need to be made if the Council is to provide the leadership that Calderdale needs. We hope that all Councillors from whatever political group will take advantage of the increased opportunities for them to be involved in running Calderdale Council for the benefit of local people

Cllr Swift:

The local Council elections gave a clear message that people want to see change in the way Calderdale Council operates. If the Council is to regain the trust and confidence of local people, we need to demonstrate that it is possible to run the Council in a way that is open, treats people fairly, and delivers on the services people need~Cllr Tim Swift

Among the priorities of the new administration are:

• A more open and inclusive style of council decision-making;
• A commitment to making sure that basic services such as street cleaning, are delivered to a high quality
• A new drive to work with partners to secure jobs and training for local people;
• Making sure that when the Council promises major schemes, they really do happen;
• A pledge to continue to modernise services, to improve value for money and keep the Council tax low.

This arrangement is subject to confirmation at next week’s Annual Meeting of the Council.

The Council’s Cabinet will be made up of the following councillors:
Cllr Janet Battye (LD) – Leader of the Council
Cllr Tim Swift (Lab) – Deputy Leader of the Council
Cllr Peter Wardhaugh (LD) – Performance and Resources
Cllr Barry Collins (Lab) – Economy & Environment
Cllr Olwen Jennings (LD) – Children and Young People
Cllr Bob Metcalfe (Lab) – Adults, Health & Social Care
Cllr David O’Neill (LD) – Safer and Stronger Communities.

A copy of the agreement reached between the two parties, and the policy priorities is attached
Protocol

BUDGET PROPOSALS FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS

“Supporting local people in hard times”

Recognising the hardship many people will be facing in the coming year, the aims of the Liberal Democrat Opposition group on Calderdale Council are to protect existing council services, to provide more of those services that will minimise the effects of the economic downturn, while helping people in general by keeping the Council tax rise down to a minimum.

Our proposals include savings of £5m over the next 3 years,  even with the proposed new services the rise in Council tax would only be just over 1% in 2009libdem-budget-proposals

Consultation with the public: Liberal Democrats are firm believers in the importance of talking with people, listening and responding to their views.

Responses need to be returned to Cllr Janet Battye, group leader, by Friday 13^th February so that they can be considered before the final proposals are prepared to go to Calderdale’s Budget Council meeting on February 23^rd.

To share your views please use the comments box below or alternatively email Cllr Janet Battye at the following address

councillor.jbattye@calderdale.gov.uk

Budget Proposal Summary (Word Doc)

Budget Proposal Detail (Excel Doc)