Latest news with #GedMirfin
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reform set to elect new county council leader
The Reform UK group that now controls Lancashire County Council will elect a leader on 10 May. The vote had been expected to take place last weekend in the wake of the party's emphatic victory in the local elections, which saw it secure a majority at County Hall. However, the Lancashire group had to await the implementation of rules and procedures for the leadership election process, which have now been drawn up by Reform at a national level after it also took control of nine other county councils across England. The successful candidate will become the leader elect of the authority before a confirmation vote of the full council is heard at its annual general meeting on 22 May. Stephen Atkinson, the former leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, who defected to Reform from the Tories in March and was elected last week as the county councillor for Ribble Valley South West, has said he will be putting his name forward. Criticism addressed Fellow Reform county councillor Ged Mirfin, who sat on the authority as a Tory from 2021 until he also defected to Reform just six weeks before the elections, said the group wanted a leader in place as soon as possible in order to avoid a period of "political inertia". The Ribble Valley North East representative also addressed criticism from the Labour and Liberal Democrat groups at County Hall about the lack of council experience amongst the new ruling group, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. "Many have experience of a different kind – some have worked in the NHS or the civil service – and we will be really trying to draw on people's skillsets and knowledge," Mr Mirfin said. "There are also seven ex-district councillors within the group – not including myself and Stephen." He is joined within the group by fellow former Tory colleague Matthew Salter, who became the first Lancashire county councillor to defect to Reform in March and was last week re-elected under his new political colours to his Wyre Rural Central seat. The party's win with 53 seats has seen it secure the largest single-party majority at the council in modern times. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. More on this story Related internet links
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform set to elect new Lancashire County Council leader
Reform set to elect new county council leader 12 minutes ago Share Save Paul Faulkner Local Democracy Reporting Service Share Save BBC Stephen Atkinson, Ian Duxbury and Ged Mirfin were elected to Lancashire County Council in the local elections The Reform UK group that now controls Lancashire County Council will elect a leader on 10 May. The vote had been expected to take place last weekend in the wake of the party's emphatic victory in the local elections, which saw it secure a majority at County Hall. However, the Lancashire group had to await the implementation of rules and procedures for the leadership election process, which have now been drawn up by Reform at a national level after it also took control of nine other county councils across England. The successful candidate will become the leader elect of the authority before a confirmation vote of the full council is heard at its annual general meeting on 22 May. Stephen Atkinson, the former leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, who defected to Reform from the Tories in March and was elected last week as the county councillor for Ribble Valley South West, has said he will be putting his name forward. Criticism addressed Fellow Reform county councillor Ged Mirfin, who sat on the authority as a Tory from 2021 until he also defected to Reform just six weeks before the elections, said the group wanted a leader in place as soon as possible in order to avoid a period of "political inertia". The Ribble Valley North East representative also addressed criticism from the Labour and Liberal Democrat groups at County Hall about the lack of council experience amongst the new ruling group, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. "Many have experience of a different kind – some have worked in the NHS or the civil service – and we will be really trying to draw on people's skillsets and knowledge," Mr Mirfin said. "There are also seven ex-district councillors within the group – not including myself and Stephen." He is joined within the group by fellow former Tory colleague Matthew Salter, who became the first Lancashire county councillor to defect to Reform in March and was last week re-elected under his new political colours to his Wyre Rural Central seat. The party's win with 53 seats has seen it secure the largest single-party majority at the council in modern times. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ribble Valley Council leader quits Conservatives to join Reform UK
The leader of Ribble Valley Council has defected from the Conservatives to Reform Atkinson has been in charge for the last six years and recently announced his decision to end his role as leader and talked about hopes of becoming the borough's deputy mayor. He announced the decision at a Reform UK press conference in London, ahead of the forthcoming county council elections in May, in which he intends to be a candidate."Reform is the only party that can save the country," he said. 'Decades of broken promises' He is among 29 councillors from across the country who have defected to the Lancashire councillors who have joined Reform recently include Lancashire county councillors Ged Mirfin and Matthew Salter, and Wyre councillor Paul Ellison. They left the Conservative Party because they "felt abandoned and disillusioned by it after so many broken promises", Reform UK Atkinson said his council had delivered "great success" for residents, but he resigned on Sunday from the Conservative Party to join Reform and would be standing for the party in the county council said: "The reason is that Reform - its vision for growth, prosperity and safety for all Britons - is what the country needs. "And to paraphrase Edmund Burke, all it takes for bad things to prevail is for good men and women to do nothing. "And that's the reason why I make this decision for the greater good."And like so many others, I feel betrayed by decades of broken promises. Tory MPs, ministers and prime ministers have failed over the last 14 years."He claimed: "Labour and the Conservatives have morphed into one. They have become the same thing, high immigration, high taxes and high energy bills. They've let patriots like me and the rest of the country down. They are the globalist uni-party."The only way to ensure we beat Labour is uniting behind Reform, all with a shared vision, making sure the UK is sovereign, prosperous and independent nation that we all know it can be."The BBC has contacted Ribble Valley Borough Council for comment. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
