We are delighted to have reached agreement on so many important areas. This is a great start to our coalition that aims to deliver better value for our residents, better services to our residents, instill a sense of pride in our town and have ambition for its future. Our coalition team is already working hard towards these goals.
The people of Reading asked their politicians to work together to address the dire financial mess left by the last Government. This is exactly what the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups are doing; working together for the good of our town.
Click here to download the agreement in full (Adobe PDF format)
The Liberal Democrat group on Reading Borough Council today announced that they are finalising an agreement with the Conservative group to form a coalition in order to take control of Reading Borough Council.
The recent local elections resulted in very little change to the political make-up of the council, although almost two-thirds of the votes cast were for the Liberal Democrats or Conservatives. Taking note of the initiative of the two parties in national government, the two council groups embarked on a process of negotiation that resulted in this agreement to work together for the good of the town.
The agreement to work as a coalition is driven by a shared desire to deliver change and improve services. A key objective of the coalition administration will be to put the council finances on a firm footing after many years of Labour mismanagement.
Cllr Kirsten Bayes, Liberal Democrat Group Leader on Reading Borough Council, said:
“The votes cast on 6 May showed Reading residents’ desire for change. This joint administration of Liberal Democrats and Conservatives brings about Reading’s rejection of the old politics of Reading Labour Party.”
“We are aware that the national deficit makes pressure on local public finances immense. We are absolutely committed to working together to ensure that the hard-pressed residents of Reading get more efficient services. We agree that ‘more of the same’ with Labour is not the best option for this town.
“It was clear from our discussions that the two groups shared many ideas of bringing positive change to the Town. There is a shared ambition and energy across our groups to bring some much-needed positive leadership to the council.”
At their council group AGM, Cllr Kirsten Bayes was unanimously re-elected unopposed as Group Leader, and Cllr Daisy Benson as Deputy Leader.
Cllr Gareth Epps was elected as Group Press Officer and Cllr Peter Beard Group Chair. Katesgrove’s new Liberal Democrat Councillor Rebecca Rye was elected Group Secretary.
The Liberal Democrats gained a seat on the Borough Council in May’s elections, and have now made gains in each of the last four local elections in Reading. The balance of Reading Borough Council is currently: Labour 19, Conservative 17, Liberal Democrats 9, Green 1.
