West Lindsey District Council 'playing musical chairs' as another leadership change is made

Council leaders at West Lindsey District Council have been accused of playing musical chairs, as they voted in a new deputy leader, the third since November last year.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Conservative Coun Anne Welburn was elected to the role following the resignation of former party member Paul Howitt-Cowan.

Coun Howitt-Cowan himself only took over the position from now leader Coun Owen Bierley in November after former leader Coun Giles McNeill stepped down due to fraud allegations for which he was arrested but later bailed pending further investigation.

Coun Howitt-Cowan, however, was suspended from, and later left, the ruling party after it emerged he had urged residents to spy on a local house builder and accused them of plans to illegally demolish a former blacksmiths forge in Hemswell.

Coun Anne Welburn is the new deputy leaderCoun Anne Welburn is the new deputy leader
Coun Anne Welburn is the new deputy leader

Prior to Coun Welburn’s election on Monday night, opposition Coun Trevor Young said: “Elected on a promise of stability, credibility and expertise — that’s what you all stated.

“But months on and yet again, we’re voting on these key positions on the council. It has become a game no more than musical chairs.

“I would say to any of the Tory group, hang on in there because eventually your turn will come around.”

He said the “swapping and changing” impacted negatively on the view of the council.

“It’s farcical, it’s becoming an embarrassment to the authority,” he said.

“We’ve had meetings cancelled, we’ve had people not attending meetings, and these are policy committees where we’re planning work and debating things.”

The leadership did not respond to the comments on the night, however, in a statement following the meeting, Coun Bierley said: “I very much welcome Coun Anne Welburn’s election as Deputy Leader of the council.

“Her new role is a pivotal and vital one and I look forward to working closely with her as we collectively seek to deliver our ambition and vision for the future for the whole of West Lindsey.”

Coun Welburn has served as a local councillor for the district for almost 13 years, starting in May 2008 and is the ward member for the Cherry Willingham Ward.

She said: “It is both an honour and a privilege for me to accept the role, and I will work tirelessly to justify the faith placed in me.

“I am passionate about inclusivity in politics, effective debate is essential to achieving what communities want at a local level and I hope we can spend more time focusing on the needs of residents rather than petty politics.

“Together we are stronger and can achieve far more with your support.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor