West Suffolk: Alliance formed to stop Tories running council

A coalition of Labour, Lib-Dem, Green and Independent councillors have joined forces and will lead West Suffolk council

Opposition parties have come together to form an alliance to run West Suffolk Council and keep the Conservatives out of power.

The West Suffolk Working Partnership is made up of Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and independent councillors.

The Tories won the largest number of seats on the council, but not enough for an overall majority.

They have attacked the independents for taking sides and "propping up a minority administration".

Following the 4 May local elections, the new ruling coalition will be led by Labour's Cliff Waterman, who said: "I promise I will not indulge in party politics in the council chamber."We recognise that communities and businesses across West Suffolk are currently facing enormous challenges and we are focussed on working together to tackle these."Tuesday night's leadership vote followed days of negotiations, with both the Conservatives and Labour trying to persuade the large grouping of independent councillors to join them in a coalition. The new alliance was supported by 37 votes to 25.

The political make up of the 64-seat council, which covers the larger towns of Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill, Mildenhall and Newmarket, is:

• Conservative 26

• Labour 17

• independent 10

• West Suffolk Independents 9

• Liberal Democrat 1

• Green 1

Before the vote, the Conservative group leader Nick Clarke made a last minute appeal to independents to think again.  "This is a matter of respect for the electorate," he said.

"It would be very strange so early in a council for a vote for an independent councillor to turn into a vote for Labour."In reply, Mr Waterman said: "The people of West Suffolk made it clear they do not need a Conservative administration."

Victor Lukaniuk, who leads the independent group and is now deputy leader of the district council, said: "We want to make a real difference to the lives and prosperity of all our communities.

"I look forward to rolling up our sleeves and moving forward."

• Greens in Suffolk secure first outright council victory

• Labour increases majority on Ipswich council

• Conservative sniping starts over election losses across England

The situation at West Suffolk is the latest in a series of changes to the leadership of councils across Suffolk.

On Tuesday night, Babergh District Council approved a Green, Liberal Democrat and independent coalition, where the three parties will take it in turns to provide the council's leader.

Meanwhile, Mid Suffolk District Council - the first in England to be solely run by the Greens - has formally elected its new leader.

And a vote on Wednesday was expected to see the Greens also leading the running of East Suffolk Council, which is also in no overall control, with the support of independents and the Liberal Democrats.

The council previously had a large Conservative majority.