A new cross-party Alliance has announced they are set to take the leadership of Lewes District Council.

The move follows a month of discussion and negotiation since local elections. A small number of Cooperative Councils exist elsewhere in the UK, however the move is unprecedented in Lewes District.

The Alliance has a majority of councillors on the council and the new administration will come into effect at the next meeting of the council on 15th July. The Alliance will be led in the first year by Councillor Zoe Nicholson who leads the Green Party group. Liberal Democrat group leader, Councillor James MacCleary, will be Deputy Leader. The new Cabinet will also include Labour and Independent councillors.

The Alliance is underpinned by detailed agreements on how the Alliance will work in practice. This includes a rotating leadership where the Liberal Democrats will lead the council in the second year of the administration.

Green Party Leader, Councillor Zoe Nicholson, who has been nominated as Leader of the council, said:

“British politics is changing. We are seeing a realignment beyond the traditional two-party system. I hope that this sort of co-operative arrangement will become more typical as it represents a true diversity of viewpoints and opinions. It also represents the will of voters in Lewes District as the participating councillors represent a majority on the council.

“I am excited about what we can achieve on behalf of local residents and can’t wait to get started.”

Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor James MacCleary, said: 

“We have been determined not to rush into this. It needs to be an enduring partnership that can achieve real change for local people and that means getting proper agreements in place. I am confident that we have got an agreement that will last and gives us a stable basis to work from.

“We put forward a forward-thinking manifesto for the District in the local elections and are looking forward to working with our partners to deliver that agenda.”  

Labour Leader, Councillor Chris Collier, said:

“I’m delighted that we’ve got an agreement. This is an exciting change for Lewes District that we know will better serve all our communities. As well as securing a strong agreement, we’ve agreed a shared policy platform that all partners are signed up to. We are convinced this is the best way to achieve positive change for everyone.”

Independent Co-Leader, Councillor Ruth O’Keeffe, said:

“I have always felt that Councillors’ first priority should be working together for the people who elected them, and I am very hopeful that this Alliance will do a lot of good for the residents of Lewes District.  There are many areas where we could do better as a Council and this is a chance to achieve this.”

Independent Co-Leader, Councillor Steve Saunders, said:

“I am looking forward to being part of this new group of like-minded Councillors, that represent the vast majority of Lewes District residents and giving them a real voice in the running of our Council”.

From the mayor of Seaford, Pinky Adil.

On this auspicious Eid day which is one of the grandest celebrations we the Muslims have after Ramadan, I would like to spread the message of peace and harmony to the whole Ummah (Muslim brothers and sisters), my community and the towners on the whole to honour, meet, greet and treat everyone with love, respect, equality. And to be more accepting, forgiving and helpful to one another. 

On the night of 29^th May, political violence flared up again in Lewes, when 2 residences on Priory Street near the railway station displaying political posters with the message ‘Stop Brexit’ and a Lib Dem logo had their windows smashed with bricks.

Oli Henman, leader of the Lib Dem group on Lewes Town Council, stated: “We are appalled at the recent incident on Priory Street. This is yet another example of the damage that is being done to the fabric of our society by the Far-Right rhetoric of Nigel Farage and the aggression unleashed by Brexit. This follows earlier damage to several properties in two previous incidents around the time of the local and European elections in both the Priory Street and Wallands areas of Lewes.

“We are actively campaigning for a more tolerant vision for the future of our country, which is built on mutual respect and shared fundamental rights for people of all backgrounds and we will not be intimidated by this kind of politically motivated violence. We have written to Sussex Police and the Police & Crime Commissioner and expect them to take this matter very seriously.

“We were overwhelmed by the level of support shown in our recent local and EU election results, where we took control of various Town Councils and won 3 MEPs across the South East region, and it is clear from the doorstep that people in Lewes reject the politics of exclusion.”

Lewes Liberal Democrats have announced that, due to health reasons, Parliamentary Candidate Kelly-Marie Blundell will be standing down from the role.

Kelly-Marie Blundell succeeded Norman Baker MP after Maria Caulfield MP took the seat in 2015. Kelly-Marie stood in the 2017 snap General Election, increasing the vote share and turning many areas across the constituency orange.

Kelly-Marie, who lives in Seaford, resigns with regret;

“I have been honoured to represent Lewes Liberal Democrats for three years. We have a fantastic team who are committed to putting the Parliamentary Seat back in the hands of the Liberal Democrats.

“With successful European Election results, seeing us elect 3 MEPs across the South East, it is clear that there is a great deal of support for people who put liberty, equality and community first, as well as opposing the chaotic government we have in place at the moment, risking our futures with a hard Brexit.

“Unfortunately, due to health issues, I can no longer fulfil the role of Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. I am very sorry to stand down, as it was always my intention to carry on fighting the hard Brexit MP and put the seat back where it belongs, in Liberal Democrat hands.”

The Liberal Democrats held the Parliamentary Constituency with MP Norman Baker, who was the member of parliament from 1997 to 2015.

Liberal Democrat councillors on Lewes District Council are hoping that the Greens will return to the negotiating table to nail down an agreement with the Lib Dems to end Tory control of the council.

Group leader, James MacCleary, says: “The Lib Dems are keen to help put together a progressive alliance to run Lewes District Council and stop the Tories who are not in tune with the wishes of local residents. But any such agreement has to be both fair to both sides and stable so that it can last the four years of the council.

“Lib Dems have considerable experience of running councils, both on our own and in coalition and we know that sensible forward planning is important. I fear that the enthusiasm and inexperience of the Greens is clouding their judgement, and rushing into half-baked plans, as they wish to do, is simply not sensible.”

At this evening’s meeting of the council, the Greens proposed Zoe Nicholson to lead the council even though they knew there was not sufficient support. Liberal Democrats have desperately exhorted the Green leadership to be more flexible and spend a little more time to build up a proper joint platform for taking control. The Greens rejected that out of hand instead attempting to force others to back their bid for power.

Cllr MacCleary adds: “We opened the door to the Greens as widely as we could but I'm afraid they do not seem ready to negotiate sensibly at the moment. I reiterate that we remain open to finding ways to create a progressive alliance to run the council and hope very much the Greens will engage positively with that.

“Liberal Democrats have extensive experience of collaborative working and also of running local authorities – indeed we were running Lewes District Council as recently as 2011. We know that any successful administration needs detailed agreements on issues and policies, and agreed terms of working. The Greens were not interested in settling any of that before making a bid for power. We are not interested in entering into an alliance that just collapses after a few weeks because we did not take the time to put in place the foundations.”

Simon Burall, Convenor of the local Liberal Democrats, added: “After a bruising election contest the focus must be on holding the Tories to account rather than making bids for power without the proper agreements in place to make it work. Local Liberal Democrats will continue to focus on putting local people first as we have always done, and get on with the job of getting results for residents.”

Following strong results in the local elections on 2nd May, the Liberal Democrats make up the largest group on the Town Councils of Lewes, Seaford and Newhaven and have therefore nominated the new mayors for all three towns!

In Seaford, Nazish Adil, known as 'Pinky', has become the town's first ethnic minority British Asian mayor. She is a very active local resident and pledged to work to ensure all voices are heard in planning for the town's future. Pinky said, “The core Lib Dem values of tolerance and respect for diversity are at the heart of my motivation for running for election; so I am delighted to be able to step up and serve the community to deliver on the interests of all our residents.”

In Lewes, John Lamb follows Lewes’ first ethnic minority mayor, Janet Baah, and he has set out a clear demand to deliver on the Lewes Neighbourhood Plan, which includes low cost housing as a key priority for local residents. John said, “It’s a real privilege for me to take over as Mayor after Janet Baah. Janet set a very high bar with her commitment to bringing a fresh perspective to the role and I look forward to continuing to ensure that people of all backgrounds are valued in our town. I have worked for many years on technology for people with disabilities, so accessibility will continue to be a strong focus in my term as Mayor.”

In Newhaven, Graham Amy leads a strong team with an overall Lib Dem majority on the Town Council. He set out priorities to ensure that Newhaven's residents are properly consulted on future priorities for the town and a demand to regenerate the High Street. Graham said, “The Lib Dems are leading the push for a change across Lewes District. We champion local action and listen closely to residents’ views. We will continue to push for better representation of local needs at all levels; by ensuring that the Town Councils are able to support local residents and pushing back against the Tory cuts at District and County Councils and central government.”

The full results are now in for local elections across England and the Lib Dems have had the best results in 20 years, we have taken more than 700 new seats and have firmly demonstrated our local campaigning impact up and down the country! In Lewes District we were heartened to receive such wide backing from voters in every part of the District. While the results were mixed, overall we have held steady and in some cases made surprising gains.

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