Rebuilding trust a priority for new Labour leader

Carole Pattison has taken over the role from Cathy Scott

The new leader of the Labour group on Kirklees Council has said the party's "immediate challenge" is to regain the trust of the community.

Carole Pattison has taken over the role from Cathy Scott, and will be put forward to become council leader at a meeting next week.

She takes on the mantle with her party no longer in overall control of the council and on the back of a series of councillors quitting the party.

Speaking to the BBC she said: "We've got to focus on the things that matter to everybody right across Kirklees, as well as dealing with this lack of trust that we've obviously got at the moment."

Five Labour councillors have left the group since January, highlighting the national party's stance on the Israel-Gaza war and problems with the local leadership of the party.

In the May local elections, four new Independent candidates were elected in areas which have traditionally returned Labour councillors.

The council has also been battling to make almost £48m of savings.

Ms Pattison said the local Labour group realised there was an "issue" with support "before Christmas".

"We didn't realise it was going to be quite so bad perhaps, until nearer the election," she said.

"But we were certainly aware that the community, or certain communities, were unhappy with the direction the local Labour party, and particularly the national party, were taking."

Labour now hold 30 of the 69 seats on the council, but hope to come to agreements with other parties in order to run a minority administration.

Ms Pattison added: "The immediate challenge is building back that trust in the community, and that's going to take quite some time.

"And perhaps that's going to divert from being able to take some of those more difficult decisions."

First elected to Kirklees Council in 2010 and re-elected 2015, she has held a cabinet position at the authority, as member for learning, aspiration and communities.

She told the BBC the financial challenges of recent years had not "gone away", but hoped they would not be as severe in the future.

As leader of the Labour group, she will be put forward to lead the whole authority at the annual council meeting on 22 May.

Analysis: Gemma Dillon, BBC West Yorkshire political reporter

Listen to communities and rebuild trust.

These are the two key messages from the new leader of the Labour group in Kirklees.

Carole Pattison is hoping councillors from other parties will back her to lead the council as a minority administration.

But amid financial pressures on the council budget and anger from some communities towards the national party's stance on Gaza, it's going to be tough.

She accepts there has been widespread anger over proposals to close local care homes and leisure centres and says they will listen to communities to regain faith.

If she is to convince other parties in the council chamber to back her to lead the authority for the next two years she will have to work with those councillors and also gain their trust.

As someone who has spent her career working in local government, she will be hoping to draw on all of those skills to give the council the stability it needs.

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