Cllr John Ward has been elected Leader of Babergh District Council at a meeting of Babergh’s Full Council.
The election was held in the evening of Thursday 4 January in the Council’s HQ in Endeavour House, Ipswich, at which Cllr Ward, of the Conservative Group, was nominated for the leadership. Cllr Ward was the only nomination and was elected by a vote of the Full Council.
The election was held following the resignation of former Leader Cllr Jennie Jenkins, who submitted her resignation at the meeting of Babergh’s Full Council on Tuesday 19 December. Since Cllr Jenkins’ resignation Cllr Jan Osborne has held the office of acting leader, and has now stepped aside for Cllr Ward.
Under Babergh District Council’s constitution, candidates for the leadership are nominated by council members from the floor of a Full Council meeting, who are then voted on by all members. In the event of more than two candidates, if no councillor is elected with a majority of votes the candidate with the fewest votes is removed from the ballot and another round of voting takes place. This continues until a single candidate gains the support of a majority of members.
Cllr John Ward, newly elected Leader of Babergh District Council, said: “I am grateful for and humbled by the support of my fellow councillors and I will work tirelessly to be worthy of their trust. Babergh faces some big challenges and questions about how we meet the challenge of our central government grant falling to zero and how we take forward our relationship with Mid Suffolk. I will be meeting immediately with my fellow members and with our officers to make sure we can answer these challenges, and build the best possible future for everyone in our district.”
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