Hartlepool Council's new leader promises exciting times ahead

Conservative councillor Mike Young said he was "immensely proud" to lead the authority

Hartlepool Borough Council's new leader has promised exciting times after being picked to head a coalition between Conservatives and independents.

Conservative group chief Mike Young was confirmed as the leader of the authority for 2023-24 at the council's annual meeting on Tuesday.

He takes over from Independent Union representative Shane Moore.

It means a coalition between Tory and independents continues to lead the council, as it has done since May 2019.

Labour had ended this month's local elections as the biggest party on the council, winning nine of the 12 seats on offer to have 18 out of 36 councillors.

However, all six independents joined with the 12 Conservative representatives to form a coalition.

In any tie, the ceremonial mayor would have had the deciding vote, and with the role being held by a coalition member for the past year it would ensure they remained in control of the council.

'Good year' ahead

Two Labour councillors submitted apologies for absence at the meeting, meaning that was not necessary and the party did not contest the leadership positions.

Mr Young told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was "immensely proud".

"Every councillor in here would say that politics is secondary to getting the job done for the people of Hartlepool," he said.

"We are committed to doing what is right for the town, as a whole council, 36 councillors, and that's what we'll continue to do.

"This year should be a good year in terms of getting a lot of the projects that we've started and got funding for off the ground, we're excited about being able to put our plans into action for people to see."

He highlighted developments at Hartlepool's railway station and the planned TV and film production village in Church Street and the Northern Studios scheme as key projects.

Meanwhile, planned civil engineering and the health and social care academies are set to be "up and running by September", he added.

Former leader Mr Moore was elected as ceremonial mayor for 2023-24.