Minutes:
Thank you very much Madam Mayor. Tonight, I come to the end of my time as Leader of Wokingham Borough Council. The first Liberal Democrat Council Leader in Wokingham for twenty years. It has been an honour and it has been a privilege to be the Leader of the Council, and to work with so many excellent officers, Executive Members, and fellow Councillors. I am proud that the partnership that we created last May, between Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independent Councillors, gave the Borough Council much needed financial stability and financial competence. I thank the 28 councillors who formed the partnership last year. We wanted to change the culture of the Council. We wanted a concentration on partnerships within the Council, and also with outside bodies and agencies, including town and parish councils. I think we have made a very good start on this journey.
Madam Mayor, I would like to take a few moments to thank a few of my colleagues. I am delighted to welcome four new Liberal Democrat councillors; Stephen Newton, Jordan Montgomery, Jane Ainslie and Catherine Glover. Well done all of you.
Now to my two fellow Ward councillors, David Hare and Andrew Mickleburgh, who are also very close friends. David has worked really well as our Adult Social Care lead, and Andrew has been a really good Chair of the Children’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Thank you to both of you.
When I introduced my Executive last year, I said that there was no one better than Councillor Sarah Kerr to be the Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Residents Services. I was right of course. I usually am. Sarah has done a great job handling so many roles. Thank you very much Sarah.
Lindsay Ferris, my predecessor as Lib Dem Leader, has worked tirelessly on the Local Plan Update. Not an easy task when you have so many Secretary of States to deal with. I think so far it has been four, but thank you very much Lindsay.
Prue Bray, in my opinion, she has been the best Executive Member for Children’s Services that this Council has ever had. She thoroughly understands this brief, and has with officers, worked through some very, very difficult issues. We should be proud that 96% of Year 7 children were able to be given a school of their choice recently, and the work that she and officers have done to secure Safety Valve funding has been quite exceptional. Another mess that we had to clear up after the previous administration. So, thanks Prue, a job really well done.
Paul Fishwick, he has been of the busiest Executive Members. Clearly much more on top of his brief than his predecessor, including Active Travel in his job title shows that the Lib Dems are committed to encouraging residents to walk and cycle more, which is good for their health and good for the environment. Sadly, others do not always get this, but thank you very much Paul.
Ian Shenton, he has been particularly busy with the Environment, Sport and Leisure portfolio. He has updated our Waste Strategy, which will now help us to save the Council £1million a year. £1million that can be spent on statutory services such as Children’s Services, social care, and potholes. The new Strategy will also improve recycling rates, two very important outcomes, which sadly others just do not get. Well done Ian you have done a great job. Thank you.
For years the Conservatives claimed that the Liberal Democrats would bankrupt the Council. Well, we have not, and we will not. It is just as well that we took over the finances last year, so that we could repair the damage left by the Conservatives. Under Imogen Shepherd-Dubey’s stewardship, we have balanced the budget without the need to raid the General Reserves, and have done this, despite inflation raging at 10%, and energy costs more than doubling, and us finding holes in the budget left by the Conservatives. Thankfully residents no longer believe that the Conservatives are good with money. That myth has been well and truly blown, both nationally and locally. Well done, Imogen, thank you.
I could not have had a more supportive deputy than Stephen Conway, who has been responsible for Housing and also partnerships. The work that he has done to improve relationships with town and parish councils and outside bodies has been exceptional, and sadly much was needed to be done after 20 years of the Conservatives in Wokingham. I know that he is as delighted as I am, and Lindsay is, that we are delivering a new library. Thank you, Stephen, thank you very much for your support.
Tackling poverty. Inclusion and equalities could not be under a better person than Rachel Bishop-Firth. I am so pleased that I created this portfolio last year. I am delighted that we have created a £250,000 Hardship Fund to help with the cost of living crisis, but it still saddens me that there are some that oppose this. I am so pleased that we have funded free school meals during school holidays, so that children who have them during term time can have them during the school holidays. No child should be going hungry in 2023. These two policies are ones that I am personally very proud of. They set us apart from the Opposition and show the compassionate side of Liberal Democrat policies. Thank you, Rachel, thank you for everything that you have done.
I will not thank individual officers, but I will say that I have enjoyed working with them at all levels in all of the Directorates. I have appreciated the openness of our discussions. We have not always agreed but we have respected each other’s positions and found solutions to issues that need to be addressed. It is really good to get such a positive peer review from the Local Government Association, which noted improvements in relationships between officers and Leaders of the Administration. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be Leader of the Council, and I look forward to the next chapter in my political journey when I intend to concentrate on the campaign to hopefully become the first Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham at the next General Election. The new Liberal Democrat Leader is my friend and colleague Stephen Conway. Later he will become the Leader of the Council. I know that I leave the Council leadership in extremely strong hands. Stephen and the Liberal Democrat Executive and Councillors will continue with our financially sound management of the Council and compassionate policies which will support the most vulnerable in our community, as well as providing council services that we all rely on, in a cost effective and efficient manner. Thank you to everybody who has helped me, officers, councillors, it has all been very much appreciated. Thank you.