Cheshire East Council re-elects leader and deputy after election

Labour's Sam Corcoran will remain as leader, while Independent group leader Craig Browne will continue as deputy

A council has re-elected its leader and deputy leader to continue in their roles after the local elections.

Labour's Sam Corcoran will remain as Cheshire East Council leader, while Independent group leader Craig Browne will continue as deputy.

No party won an overall majority in May, with Labour and the Independents forming a joint administration,

Councillor Corcoran said his two main priorities were tackling climate change and addressing health inequalities.

The council has been run as a joint administration between Labour and the Independent group since 2019 when the Tories lost control of the council.

After that, Mr Corcoran became Cheshire East's first Labour council leader.

In the recent local elections, Labour gained six seats and the Conservatives gained three, with independents losing seven seats and the Liberal Democrats losing two.

Carbon neutral

The Conservatives are still the largest party on the council, but the Independent group held the balance of power and agreed to work with Labour for another four years.

Councillors from Labour and the Independent group will share the offices of chairs and vice-chairs across the council's various committees, with the exception of the audit and governance, and scrutiny committees which will be chaired by Conservatives.

Mr Corcoran said the council had committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2025 and said he was "committed" to working with businesses to make the borough as a whole carbon neutral by 2045.

He also said he wanted to tackle health inequalities across Cheshire East.

"It never ceases to shock me that there is a 12-year life expectancy gap across the borough and we will look to address that," he added.

Meanwhile, Councillor Rod Fletcher was elected as mayor for the year and Councillor Marilyn Houston as deputy mayor at the same meeting, which was held at Tatton Park.

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