New council aims to fix 'crumbling roads'

The Liberal Democrats met over the weekend to discuss aims after their win in Gloucestershire

Fixing Gloucestershire's "crumbling roads and broken services" are among the top priorities of the Liberal Democrats after their victory in the county council elections.

The new leadership has pledged to prioritise investment in local infrastructure, improve transparency in council finances and listen to the voices of residents across the county.

The 27 Lib Dem councillors met at Shire Hall on the weekend to "begin the vital work of restoring Gloucestershire".

"For too long, Gloucestershire has been held back by crumbling roads, broken services, and financial mismanagement," said newly appointed council leader Lisa Spivey.

The Liberal Democrat councillors said their immediate priority was forming a new cabinet to lead the authority into a "new era of responsible leadership, community focus, and real action".

"We are determined to put that right from day one. Residents voted for change — and that's exactly what we intend to deliver," Ms Spivey added.

Councillor Colin Hay was appointed as Ms Spivey's deputy and said Gloucestershire had a "fresh start".

"We're getting to work immediately to repair the damage of the last 20 years and rebuild trust with the public," he said.

The councillors said the swift move to convene less than 24 hours after the results were declared and begin their work signalled a clear commitment to action and accountability.

The Liberal Democrats are one seat short of overall control at the council.

'Fresh start'

The opposition on the council will be led by Reform UK which won 11 seats ahead of the Conservatives who held only six of the 28 they previously won in 2021.

Reform UK believes the county results are another example of the disintegration of the two-party system in the UK.

The Green Party also secured their best results in Gloucestershire last week by winning nine seats and are the third largest party.

Interim group leader Beki Hoyland said their "fabulous" results were a sign of "increasing disillusionment with the two main parties".

She said they offered "real hope and change" and there was growing interest in their ethos of social and environmental justice and hard-working local activism.

Tory leader for the county Stephen Davies said on Friday the results were "obviously disappointing" but the county is "in an interesting place with some very inexperienced councillors who will now have to make some tough decisions".

The Labour Party was all but wiped out in the elections with Steve Robinson the only councillor staying on.

He won his Nailsworth seat by 465 votes ahead of the Greens.

A party spokesperson said the results were disappointing but they were going to continue to work on building trust with people across Gloucestershire while the government "goes further and faster in delivering the change they want to see".