Latest news with #DoncasterCouncil
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Doncaster Reform group shun offer to join mayor's executive group
Reform UK has rejected an offer to be part of a new-look Executive Group on Doncaster Council, after sweeping the board at the recent party won 37 of the 55 seats on the council, while Labour retained just 12 of the 40 it had previously Ros Jones, who narrowly held on to her role as Mayor and leader of the authority, offered to work with Reform and the Conservatives, but declined to invite them to join her group leader Guy Aston said the proposed group had "no portfolio [and] no decision making" and he was "not prepared to get involved," saying the party would impact decision making through normal scrutiny processes instead. Speaking ahead of his first full council meeting, Aston described the 37 Reform councillors as a "citizens army"."We have cracked the two party system here more than anywhere else," he said."Our councillors are citizens first, they were not attached for years to political parties and they didn't attend branch meetings."These are concerned citizens now in power, they want the best for Doncaster not for their own political ideologies." Aston, who previously served in the Royal Navy, would not be drawn on specific policies but did say he wanted a "constructive relationship" with the Mayor and would scrutinise policies on a "piece by piece basis"."There is no point in us bringing the house down around our ears" he about the ongoing work to reopen Doncaster Airport he said while "nobody would not want an airport, it must not impact on the Doncaster council tax payer".In response to questions about councillor Mark Broadhurst, who came under fire for historic posts on Facebook, he said the matter was being "referred to the council"."It is not acceptable, the vetting was quite thorough, but something has gone wrong" he decision to reject Jones' offer came after the Conservative Group leader also turn down the invitation. In a letter to the Mayor, Steve Cox said he and deputy leader, Nick Allen, did not want to be part of "back room" discussions "with no scrutiny"."That's not how democratic decision making should work and you know it," he said. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform UK, power struggle and Doncaster's airport battle
On Friday, 37 Reform councillors will take their seats in the Doncaster Council chamber for the first time. Their new majority comes at a pivotal time for the city, where Labour mayor Ros Jones was re-elected on a ticket of promises to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Reform came from nowhere to become the council's biggest party, yet they don't control the council because the city's mayoral system means Jones still wields considerable recent election, which saw Labour slump from 40 councillors to 12, leaves a lot of questions. Why did people vote differently for the mayor and their councillors? Will the authority grind to a 'bureaucratic halt'? Will the airport actually open again?Reform's influence will be curtailed by the presence of the Labour mayor, who declined to invite their members to be part of her cabinet. She has instead extended a hand of friendship to the party through an Executive Group she has set will provide "opposition members with access, influence and opportunity to shape decisions".What that actually means in practice remains to be seen, as does whether Reform and other parties take up her invitation. Jones is going to need to bring other parties on board to an extent because although she can make a lot of decisions alone, there are some which need the approval of full authority's budget, the council's Corporate Plan, which sets out priorities, and any decision on the airport, which closed in 2022 when landowners and operators Peel Group said it was no longer viable, are chief among is where things will get interesting. The future of the airport might be the biggest decision Doncaster has to make for a generation. It is due to cost about £100m of public money to reopen the airport. It was the biggest talking point during the was, arguably, the only thing that got Jones across the line again – what had already been done to reopen the airport and her promises to make it clear many people in Doncaster were voting broadly for Reform as their councillors, but for a mayor they picked the person who had already been driving the airport the airport now becomes 'the big thing' for Jones – it got her elected and it will also be the thing that she will be held accountable has already gone so far down the runway, is there any real chance that they can change their minds about the project's value for money and decide not to take off after all?She'll need to convince an unconvinced Reform – but also her Labour colleague and Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver will ultimately decide whether the money can be spent because it would be coming from the county's devolution settlement, which his office says the deal "has to make sense" to be granted his not just politicians Jones needs to work on. Doncaster Council's own auditors also have "serious concerns" about the effective use of resources. Professional services firm Grant Thornton told the council in November that not being able to secure outside investment for the airport "would be a significant escalation in the project's risk profile and the council's financial exposure". Some businesses – as much as they want the airport to reopen – want to make sure it is done in the right Mason's office at Redline Assured Security looks out on to the empty terminal at what was once RAF Finningley, a key Cold War-era base before its conversion into a commercial airport 20 years company helped train security staff there and hopes to do it again if it he says legislation on scanners has changed even since the airport closed. They'd need new 3D-scanners and training needs to happen now if locals want the jobs that could be created."We do run the risk, unless it's well managed, of bringing people in from outside of the region and that would be a huge travesty. We'd like to see those jobs returned to the local community," he explains."There is a huge lead time to opening up an airport, particularly one that's been closed for a while. There is a lot of skill that needs to be brought in. We really need to think about training people now rather than having to bring people from outside of the region and taking jobs away from people in Doncaster." 'Lack of open conversation' One person quietly putting his hand up in the corner of this debate is Richard Sulley from the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures at the University of told me there are plenty of promises being made by politicians – but not enough questions asked."It's hard to justify reopening an airport in a time of a climate emergency. There do seem to be very few voices politically against the reopening of the airport and you can see why. "What's concerned us has there's not been much open conversation about the downsides of the airport."I think there are strong arguments that this is not a good use of public money even within the context of reopening an airport - let alone when you factor in the carbon emissions that will be generated by that airport." Doncaster Council has established a wholly-owned subsidiary called Fly Doncaster and secured Munich Airport International as its strategic partner to support the re-establishment of operations there over a number of years. The site would be leased from region needs the jobs that the airport could provide but what would the cost be, both financially and environmentally?That's a huge decision to take for Doncaster. And the city will be doing it at a time when the council is, perhaps, at its most mayoral system that Doncaster uses is meant to be getting scrapped by the government in the next few years. By then though, these decisions will be made. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reform quizzed over councillor's Facebook posts
Reform UK has refused to answer questions about a new Doncaster councillor whose Facebook account featured posts comparing black Islamic dress to bin bags. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) approached the party after a number of posts on a Facebook account belonging to Councillor Mark Broadhurst went viral along with calls to "suspend him". The LDRS had asked whether the posts – including a since deleted image which suggested Adolf Hitler would be a "legend" had he targeted people following Islam – were acceptable to the party. A Reform UK spokesperson said the party would not be commenting on questions submitted by the LDRS. The party also declined to answer questions on whether any action would be taken against councillors who share offensive content on social media. Reform UK was asked why the posts were not flagged in the reportedly upgraded vetting process for political candidates but the party also declined to answer. Mr Broadhurst continues to work as a Reform UK representative for Hatfield ward on the City of Doncaster Council where the party has 37 seats. The overwhelming majority would normally have given Reform UK control of the council but - due to Labour winning the vote for the Mayor of Doncaster - executive control of the council remained with them. Reform UK's Alexander Jones was just 698 votes behind Labour's Ros Jones in the mayoral contest. Doncaster Council has said that following the election, all councillors had received training on the Councillor Code of Conduct which applies to them following their election and which sets out the expectations of them. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North The rise of Reform: Party takes Doncaster Council Reform UK selects group leader for city council Reform UK makes big gains in English local elections Doncaster Council
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Doncaster Reform councillor's social media content questioned
Reform UK has refused to answer questions about a new Doncaster councillor whose Facebook account featured posts comparing black Islamic dress to bin Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) approached the party after a number of posts on a Facebook account belonging to Councillor Mark Broadhurst went viral along with calls to "suspend him".The LDRS had asked whether the posts – including a since deleted image which suggested Adolf Hitler would be a "legend" had he targeted people following Islam – were acceptable to the party. A Reform UK spokesperson said the party would not be commenting on questions submitted by the LDRS. The party also declined to answer questions on whether any action would be taken against councillors who share offensive content on social UK was asked why the posts were not flagged in the reportedly upgraded vetting process for political candidates but the party also declined to Broadhurst continues to work as a Reform UK representative for Hatfield ward on the City of Doncaster Council where the party has 37 overwhelming majority would normally have given Reform UK control of the council but - due to Labour winning the vote for the Mayor of Doncaster - executive control of the council remained with UK's Alexander Jones was just 698 votes behind Labour's Ros Jones in the mayoral Council has said that following the election, all councillors had received training on the Councillor Code of Conduct which applies to them following their election and which sets out the expectations of them. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform UK selects Guy Aston as group leader for Doncaster Council
Reform UK has selected a leader for its group on City of Doncaster Council after the party surged to an overall majority following the local elections earlier this Aston, who was voted in as a councillor for Wheatley Hills and Intake on 1 May, was chosen as the group's leader on the council at a meeting on was one of 37 Reform UK councillors elected to the authority, with the group now forming the main opposition to Labour Mayor Ros Jones and her Monday's meeting, Aston described his role as leader as "an honour and a privilege" and vowed to deliver "serious change" in the city. Conisbrough councillor Rachel Reed was chosen as Reform UK's deputy leader on City of Doncaster Council at the same being chosen as leader, Aston told his colleagues: "What we have achieved here is incredible. From a standing start we are now the largest party on the council."Aston, who was born in Doncaster, briefly served in the Royal Navy before moving into sales and marketing, according to the Local Democracy Reporting having a majority of councillors, the Reform UK group on City of Doncaster Council acts as a very large opposition group to Jones, the directly elected mayor. Jones narrowly saw off the Reform UK challenge for Mayor of Doncaster by less than 700 votes and has now begun her fourth consecutive term in the week, she announced her Labour cabinet, made up of councillors Glyn Jones, Sue Farmer, David Nevett and James her cabinet appointments, she announced she would be inviting Reform UK and Conservative councillors to a private "executive group" on decision group will offer opposition councillors the chance to have an "input" on decision making, however, the final say on key decisions remains with Jones and the Labour Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that Labour will invite Aston and Reed, and whoever Aston appoints as party whip, to join the executive councillors from the Conservative Party are also expected to be invited, likely to be leader Steve Cox and deputy leader Nick Allen. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
