Councillor says authority’s Labour leadership is a ‘lame duck’ and ‘not healthy democracy’

Councillors who won the last contested seats on a Labour-led council have branded their opponents’ leadership a “lame duck” with no resurgent support in the town.

Conservative Cllrs Lynn Hall and Niall Innes were re-elected to Hartburn ward on Thursday night (June 22), along with new member Cllr Jason French. The wins put their group ahead as the largest party on Stockton Council with 25 seats to Labour’s 22.

Labour remains in charge of the authority, with support for the leadership from seven independent councillors, and no single party with an overall majority. Cllr Hall said she did not believe this was a healthy situation.

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She said: “They’re hanging on by their fingertips. Seven independents are in fact shoring up a lame duck in my opinion, a cabinet that’s past their sell-by date, doing a disastrous job for the residents. They’ve been there too long and they’re not listening to the electorate.

“We’re the majority group without any direct impact into the running of the council. That’s not healthy democracy. That’s not what residents voted for.

“The vast majority of residents in Stockton voted Conservative. They want to improve their lives, yet they’re not getting the representation on the council.

“It’s a huge privilege really to be re-elected. We’re a strong team and goodness, there’s lots of work to be done. And Hartburn deserves so much better from this Labour-led council than they’re getting at present.”

‘Such a frustrating time’

She told how she had lost access to her council phone and emails and was unable to serve residents for two months while waiting for the ward election, which was delayed following the death of a candidate in April. She said she had been contacted by constituents in the supermarket, at home and in the street.

She said: “It has been such a frustrating time for me and my residents. I’ve been dealing with vulnerable residents all this time, I’ve never stopped. People haven’t been able to contact their councillor.

“Two council meetings have taken place since the May poll and Hartburn had no representation whatsoever. It’ll probably be another cycle before we can get back on to committees.

“The 1,788 people that voted for me are not getting any representation or any input into the council. It’s shocking.

Hoping for a ‘reset’

“It’s highlighted the difficulties residents have contacting the council. Residents are our focus and we’ve lost it really because of the political shenanigans that are going on in Stockton. It’s made us lose sight of what we’re all about.

“But hopefully they’re going to now reset and ensure that we have a fair electoral representation at long last. We have to show that we’re actually listening to our electorate.”

Labour group leader and council leader Cllr Bob Cook replied to the comments about his group: “If people wouldn’t work with them, they wouldn’t work with them. Obviously that wouldn’t have happened if they could have got somebody to work with them.

“I think they really need to look at the way they campaigned through the election, not particularly in Hartburn but the election from May.

“We’re trying to get the best for all the residents of the borough and that’s how we’ll move forward, getting the best for everybody, looking to investment, bringing jobs and ensuring that the most vulnerable have the services they need.” Stockton Council has been contact for a comment on the issues raised by Cllr Hall.

Cllr Innes said: “I’m delighted to be given a chance again. It’s been a long slog. I’m glad it’s done now and Hartburn’s got some representation again.”

He said he did not feel they faced enough of a fight for Hartburn: “Which is wrong in democracy. It’s about debate. We put our all into it.

“We’re the largest party, our vote share’s gone up, everybody else’s has dropped. There’s no resurgence for Labour in Stockton.

“The opportunity was there to support the largest party, to give us a chance, a crack of the whip. There’s a lot of disappointment in the borough.”

‘A signal that time for change is coming’

Cllr French said: “I’m absolutely elated. It’s a great privilege to represent my ward in Hartburn. I’ve lived here for about 20 years and I’ve got a lot of family and friends there.

“I’m also a local landlord, of the Parkwood Hotel on Darlington Road. It’s a good platform when I’m speaking to residents and customers, to listen to their views and support them.

“Being the newbie, not knowing if I was in or out leading up to last night, I just got my head down and kept pressing on to get the right result, which we have done.

“It’s having more strength in numbers in a Labour council. It could be a signal that time for change is coming, much-needed change.