Council leader to step down after five years

Jason Brock will remain as leader until the local elections in May

The leader of Reading Borough Council is stepping down after five years in the job.

Jason Brock is also quitting as Labour councillor for the Southcote ward.

He said when he was elected in 2019 he "privately maintained that roughly five years was probably the right amount of time" and it had "been my huge honour and privilege to lead the council".

Mr Brock will remain as leader until the local elections in May.

He was first elected as a councillor in a by-election in 2016 before becoming leader of the council in May 2019.

In his time in charge, he oversaw the construction of two leisure centres, the opening of Green Park station and "the largest council house building programme in a generation", the council said.

Mr Brock said there had been "some extremely challenging periods", including Covid and the Forbury Gardens terror attack in 2020, but the community came "together to find strength in moments of enormous adversity".

"To this day, I remain humbled at the town’s response," he said.

He also paid tribute to the people he worked with, including communities, organisations, councillors and deputy council leaders.

"While the economic climate and the cost-of-living continues to widen existing inequalities in our society, the council’s direction of travel remains helping Reading to realise its potential while ensuring that everyone who lives and works here can share in the benefits of its success," he said.