Robert Joins Executive Board




	Robert Joins Leeds City Council's Executive Board “Any support for the administration will rely on Morley getting a fairer deal than it has in the past.”
Morley Borough Independent Councillors have pledged their support to a minority administration on Leeds City Council. The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have come to a joint agreement to form the administration with support from the MBIs and the Green group. Although giving its backing, the MBIs will not be part of the formal administration itself. The new administration will have 47 of the 99 seats on the Council plus the support of the five MBI and three Green group members. Councillor Mark Harris, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said this week: “At the elections on May 3, the then administration parties won over 50 per cent of the vote, compared to Labour winning under a third of the vote. “We understand the Labour Group approached both the Greens and the Morley Independents to see whether they could form an administration but were rebuffed. “In that light we strongly believe that a Lib Dem/Conservative administration with the support of the Morley Independents and the Greens offers stability for the people of Leeds.” Tory leader Councillor Andrew Carter said: “Over the past three years Leeds has benefited from a strong administration which has made major steps forward in dealing with the problems we inherited. “We need to carry on with the work we have started in order to achieve even better services for the people of Leeds in the future. This new agreement will allow us to do this in a clear, straightforward way.” MBI Councillors will now be elected onto new positions on the Council . The new Council structure will see Councillor Tom Leadley (MBI, Morley North) appointed back onto Metro to monitor the performance of bus operators across the Morley area and Councillor Robert Finnigan will be appointed on to the Council's Executive Board to monitor and scrutinise the work of the new Conservative and Liberal Democrat administration. Councillor Finnigan said the MBIs now had a real opportunity to influence the city Council at the highest level. “We will be looking for more support for specific Morley schemes especially the regeneration project at Morley Bottoms and the continuation of the improvement programme across Morley parks. “Any support for the administration will rely on Morley getting a fairer deal than it has in the past.” Councillor Leadley returns to Metro after a two-year absence and said he was keen to get back to negotiating a better deal for Morley bus users. “Metro is in a position to influence the bus operators delivering a service in Morley,” he said. “As a regular bus user myself I will be looking to Metro to make sure that there is an improvement to the bus service serving Morley residents.” Councillor Bob Gettings (MBI, Morley North) has been appointed to the new scrutiny board on culture and leisure while Councillor Judith Elliott (MBI, Morley South) will be monitoring children’s services. Councillor Terry Grayshon (MBI, Morley South) has been re-appointed onto the licensing committee.