Reform reveals Warwickshire County Council cabinet - but rivals rail at vacant post

New leader Councillor Rob Howard (Reform, Attleborough) unveiled eight of the nine new cabinet members that will take charge of the county’s major service areas.

The last remaining post to fill is that of transport and planning, a huge role that covers highways, road safety, HS2 works, parking and infrastructure planning around housing, a point that opposition parties were keen to make.

Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group Councillor Sarah Boad (Leamington North) said her group was “extremely concerned” that the role remained vacant.

“There is the bridge to nowhere (an unfinished road project from the last council) and the council’s maintenance contract is about to be renegotiated, plus we have a new head of highways starting next week," she said.

“One of the first meetings they would have is with the portfolio holder. That first meeting may not happen now and that is really important.

“Had we been in some sort of control, we were very keen to see contracts being managed better. Money is tight, we know that, but people are not happy with dolloping a lump of tarmac into a hole which breaks up after a couple weeks so they have to come back and fix it properly.

“I had a lot of feedback about highways, a lot of people are really fed up. It is the number one issue on the doorsteps and they want to see things repaired once, not two or three times.”

Lib Dem colleague Councillor George Cowcher (Wellesbourne) argued it would leave a vacuum on strategic transport planning, particularly in relation to the emerging South Warwickshire Local Plan.

“We need the county council to be doing the advocacy for us, particularly with the government in terms of funding,” he said.

“Time is of the essence. We need to have our preferred options in place by the end of the year. We have had four weeks, there is nobody driving it forward or for us to engage with. It is also important for Rugby, they have a proposal coming forward too.

“It leaves us rudderless on a key issue.”

Councillor Sam Jones (Green, Warwick North) added: “It really shocked me. Reform spent the entire election campaign focused intently on potholes.

“They made it clear that it was their intention to deal with roadworks and fix potholes but they have yet to assign a portfolio holder to deal with that exact issue. It is shambolic.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Howard said he was optimistic that the post would be filled imminently but acknowledged: “It needs to be resolved, without a doubt.

“We have spent a lot of time looking at the people we have. I was not prepared to make a rushed decision, there is no point in getting the wrong person for any role.

“The role is still being discussed, someone is doing some due diligence on the matter, making sure they can do it, and if that is satisfactorily resolved I hope to make an appointment early next week.”

There is one fewer cabinet post compared with the Conservative administration with Cllr Howard incorporating the previously separate economy portfolio into his leadership role.

Deputy leader Councillor George Finch (Bedworth Central) also takes on children and families with finance and property, which was under the deputy’s remit when the Tories were in power, being handled by Councillor Stephen Shaw (Polesworth).

Two of the other titles have been tweaked with customer and transformation becoming customer and localities, Councillor Mike Bannister (Nuneaton Abbey) taking on that one.

Perhaps more noticeably, climate has been dropped from a portfolio that returns to a previous title – environment, heritage and culture – with Councillor Darren Cheshire (Nuneaton East) taking charge.

Adult social care and health will be overseen by Councillor Anne-Marie Sonko (Earl Craven), education has been assigned to Councillor Wayne Briggs (Arbury), while Councillor Dale Bridgewater (Camp Hill) is to handle fire and rescue and community safety.

The posts were confirmed in a leader’s session held in public. A number of opposition councillors and most of the new cabinet members attended but it was kept short and sweet, ending inside four minutes.

Cllr Howard said: “It gives me great pleasure to introduce my cabinet.

“I know that they will bring not only dedication but significant experience to their roles alongside huge commitment to deliver the very best for communities across Warwickshire.”

Cllr Boad expressed disappointment at not hearing any political priorities from the group taking charge.

“We expected a lot more detail,” she said. “Astatement from the leader on what his priorities are going forward but we didn’t get that, the meeting lasted less than four minutes."

She said her group had been told about the new posts “five minutes before the meeting started", adding: “We suspect he is struggling to get people to be portfolio holders which is why it has come down from nine to eight.”

Cllr Howard insisted there had been “no lack of enthusiasm” from his group.

“It has been a case of ensuring the right people are in the right places and for the right reasons,” he said.

“Some people have fresh eyes and fresh views of things. The team I have built is full of enthusiasm and very capable. They will probably look at things from a different perspective to other portfolio holders and work alongside the council to make some of the improvements that we would like to see.”

As for policy direction, he said that Reform was still running the rule over the status quo, calling on people to “give us a chance, let us settle in and judge us on our results”.

Those sentiments were echoed by Cllr Finch.

“During the election we highlighted things we would look at. Now we have to have a proper review of whatever policies have gone before," he said.

“Millions of pounds are being wasted and we need to look at this clinically. That is what we can do as a new Reform UK cabinet, we have the ability to truly question things with honesty and integrity. That’s the main thing people voted us in on.

“We are open and honest and the main thing we look to is transparency. Whatever we find, we will be highlighting to the people of Warwickshire.

“People want quick results, I am sure the other parties will be hot on our heels but there is a lot to do. It is millions of pounds, we can’t be rushing it.”