Council leader ousted after vote of no confidence

Cathy Scott left the Labour Party but continued to lead the council as an independent

The leader of Kirklees Council has been ousted after a motion of no confidence was passed.

Cathy Scott had previously led the council's Labour group, but resigned from the party in May to sit as an independent.

The motion, brought by remaining Labour members earlier, said Mrs Scott had "no legitimate mandate" to hold the role.

Following a further vote, new Labour group leader Carole Pattison, who tabled the no confidence motion, was elected as leader of the council.

Labour Group leader Carole Pattison was voted in as the new leader

Mrs Scott left the Labour group after Mrs Pattison was selected as the new leader following the local elections, but continued on as leader of the council as an independent.

She then went on to form the Kirklees Community Alliance with five other ex-Labour councillors, four of them Cabinet members, also now sitting as independents.

Speaking at a council meeting earlier about the no confidence motion, Mrs Pattison said: "Providing a political direction to the seventh largest metropolitan authority carries with it responsibility.

"We are not playing games here, we are not vying to run a sweet shop."

She described Mrs Scott's decision to form an independent group on losing the leadership of the Labour group "a travesty of democracy".

The motion was passed at a Kirklees Council meeting on Wednesday

She added: "The Community Alliance has no policies, no track record, no structure locally, regionally or nationally to ensure the support and capacity of its members."

In response, Mrs Scott described the motion as "deeply flawed" and said it had "generated a wave of negativity, hostility and trolls" who had made threats against her and the cabinet.

She said: "[The motion] is not based on the leader's ability or their performance.

"It stems from a perceived lack of mandate and frankly a sense of entitlement of the opposition Labour group."

Analysis by Gemma Dillon, BBC Yorkshire political reporter

Emotions ran high in the council chamber on Wednesday, with councillors at one stage warned not to get too personal.

That emotion was clear on Cathy Scott's face, after all this was a motion tabled by people who until just a few weeks ago she had worked closely with.

After being ousted as leader of the Labour group it had been expected she would step aside as council leader to allow Carole Pattison to take up the role.

But she refused to budge, saying she had the mandate to lead the authority.

The further twist came when she left Labour to set up the Kirklees Community Alliance with a handful of other councillors and still tried to hold on to power.

Tonight's vote has shone a spotlight on just how unstable Kirklees Council is politically at the moment, with no party having a majority after Labour's share of seats fell to just 24 of the 69.

And, with the next election not due until 2026, this is how it could remain.

Furthermore, while the council may have resolved the problem of who will lead, there are more big problems ahead.

Like many other local authorities, Kirklees faces some significant financial challenges and, without a majority, when it comes to things like passing a budget or the local plan it could be really tricky without forging alliances across the chamber.

'No legitimate mandate'

The motion was passed after 23 councillors voted in favour, while 18 voted against and 18 choose to abstain.

It said: “We believe that the current leader and their new group have no legitimate mandate from this council or from the people of Kirklees. Leadership from this small and newly formed minority party is not sustainable.

“We therefore resolve to see the current leader removed from office and for a new leader be properly elected by this council.”

At the same meeting, a motion which would have seen the council move away from a leader and cabinet model to a committee system was not voted through.

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