Mason Moore | Hinckley Reporter | 12 May 2021
HINCKLEY COUNCILLOR, Michael Mullaney, who represents the De Montfort Ward, has been appointed the new Leader of the Opposition for Leicestershire County Council.
Cllr. Mullaney was chosen by the Leicestershire Liberal Democrats to oppose the Conservative-led administration at County Hall.
He was elected to take post following Simon Galton’s decision to step down as Leader of the local Lib Dem group.
Former Leader Simon Galton will continue to play an active key role in the local party, where he will serve as the Finance Spokesman.
The new team consists of:
- Stuart Bray (Deputy Leader and Health Spokesman)
- Simon Galton (Finance Spokesman)
- Michael Charlesworth (Group Whip)
- David Bill (Environment and Transport)
- Linda Broadley (Adults and Communities)
- Geoff Welsh (Children and Families)
Councillor Mullaney thanked the long-standing former leader for his many years of leading the group with ‘diligence’ and ‘commitment’.
He believes that Leicestershire continues to be ‘bottom of the league’ when it comes to funding from the Government, and that the area needs ‘levelling up’.
The newly-elected Leader has now stated that he make his priority challenging the Conservatives on delivering fairer funding.
He said: “I’d like to thank Simon Galton for his many years of leading the Liberal Democrat group with diligence and commitment.
“I’m honoured to have been elected as successor. I’m delighted that Simon is continuing to take a leading role as Finance Spokesman.
“We have a Conservative County Council re-elected with a large majority, but many problems still remain – Leicestershire continues to be bottom of the league for Government funding by the Tory Government.
“This means our roads remain in poor condition with potholes taking too long to be repaired and the County Council not having the finances to tackle the many speeding and parking problems across the County adequately.
“Meanwhile people still see their Council tax go up year on year. The Conservatives were elected on Boris Johnson’s promise to level up the country, well Leicestershire needs levelling up more than anywhere else.
“I will make challenging the Tories to deliver on fair funding the main priority, people in Leicestershire deserve quality services the same as people elsewhere in the country.”