In the West Yorkshire borough of Kirklees, only the Green Party‘s group leader or Reform’s are in a position to lead the council. But Conservative councillors’ refusal to pick a side has been blocking progress, with two votes already failing to produce a winner.
Ahead of another vote on 15 July, local Green leader Andrew Cooper told the Canary that Tory councillors should either “pick a side” or just “stay at home”.
Green experience vs Reform incompetence
In May’s local elections, Kirklees voters totally wiped out the Labour Party, whose previous administration had been incredibly controversial. On one side, this led to big Green and Independent gains. On the other, it saw Reform become the biggest party on the council, albeit without a majority.
Reform, however, openly admitted its incompetence early on. Group leader Sarah Wood shamelessly told the council she ‘didn’t understand’ what was going on. Since then, one Reform councillor has completely stepped down (sparking a 13 August by-election), and another has left the party to stand as an independent.
Cooper, meanwhile, has been a councillor in Kirklees for 27 years. And talking about the council leadership vote, he told the Canary:
There’s a real difference here [between the Green Party and Reform candidates]…
I went into quite a lot of detail at the council’s AGM as to the things that I would prioritise as leader, and it’s all there on the public record. We don’t have an equivalent from Sarah Wood.
Cooper’s plans include:
support for Dewsbury Sports Centre, looking at burial space in North Kirklees, Cleckheaton Town Hall, involving councillors in the plans for its future.
He repeatedly emphasised that he would seek to empower local councillors on area-specific issues like these.
He also asserted that:
If I took control of the council, there would be a greater focus on benefits advice and benefits support. The council would have an opportunities register as well as a risk register. I would be driving those things.
Tackling inequality in Kirklees
On the issue of benefits advice and support specifically, Cooper said:
One of the things that I really want to tackle is a lot of the inequality that exists in Kirklees.
We have a very fragmented benefits advice system, and people suffer as a result of that. When I say fragmented, there’s a number of different agencies that operate around Kirklees. And we don’t have really good data on how they’re operating. We don’t know whether they’re getting better or worse each year. And so I’d like to really put a lot more focus on ensuring that people get the benefits that they’re entitled to.
That is important, not just for the individuals concerned, who could gain up to £150 a month – that’s the average that people get as a result of benefits advice. But it’s also good for the council, because the council will get more money from central government when it demonstrates that there is need and that that need needs to be supported. So the finance that the council gets is also helped in that way.
And people are entitled to this support. They’re entitled to these benefits. And that money that comes into those people will generally be spent in the local economy, helping the local economy. So I think we’ve been pretty much asleep at the wheel on this for a good while, for a good number of years. And we’ll be putting a motion into the next council to put a greater focus on this.
No progress possible until Tories ‘pick a side or stay at home’
However, there can be no progress with Cooper’s plans – or even any previous plans – until councillors confirm the next council leader. For example, he mentioned the Green party proposal of “climate bonds”, which went through in the last budget. This, he explained, draws:
money from the community to help fund solar panels on council buildings. They get money back to them as a result of that. They get about 4% interest on the money that they provide. We’re not sourcing the money from outside Kirklees, from private institutions. And the council is reducing its fuel bills as a consequence.
But unfortunately, he lamented:
That is on hold because we’re waiting for an administration to take over.
He said the council’s Conservatives want Reform and the Green party to “sort this out” themselves. But with firmly opposing visions for Kirklees, Cooper stressed:
There’s no way that Reform want me to run the council, and there’s no way that we want Reform to run the council.
He added:
The political reality is that you’ve got to pick a side.
The Tories don’t even have to take a strong position, either. Because if they really don’t want a Green party or Reform leader, Cooper said:
They could stay at home… They could be on holiday, throw a sickie. But actually, they’re helping by not being there.
For the sake of ordinary people in Kirklees, we hope some Tory councillors hear this message. Because voters deserve clarity and progress, and no more delays.
Featured image via the Canary
By Ed Sykes
