Labour group backs council leader to stay on in Preston

Matthew Brown is set to remain the leader of Preston City Council after the Labour group on the authority backed him to stay in the post.

The veteran politician was re-elected unopposed as local party leader during a meeting of Labour councillors on Tuesday evening.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he was “delighted” to have the chance to continue in the top job, which he has held since 2018.

The Labour group decision came after last week’s local election results in which the party lost overall control of the city council for the first time in 15 years.

However, it remains the largest group on the authority – and Cllr Brown said in the wake of the outcome that he was hoping to be able to rely on the support of the three independent councillors currently sitting at the town hall in order to remain in charge.

That hope hinged first on the backing of his own party colleagues – and now that has been secured, his position will be put to a vote of all councillors at a meeting of the full council on 21st May.

At the same gathering, a new cabinet line-up will also be voted upon.  However, deputy council leader Martyn Rawlinson has not put himself forward to remain in that role, which he first took up five years ago.  He is, however, intending to stay as the cabinet member for resources.

Cllr Valerie Wise – currently the cabinet member for community wealth building – hopes to replace him.  She first sat on the city council back in the 1990s and was the authority’s leader between May 1994 and December 1995.  She returned to the town hall after a more than 20-year absence in 2022.

Cllr Brown, who has been a city councillor since 2002, said he remains “as passionate as I ever was about delivering a very strong agenda for Preston – and a very radical Labour agenda”.

“That’s what motivates me – and obviously [Labour] do still have 46 percent of the seats,” he added.

“We’re really excited about some of the things we’re looking to do – including bringing in a £10 annual bus pass for children and young people, which we think will be brilliant for families in our community.

“We’re also bringing back council housing – and there are many other things that we’re going to be doing over the next 12 months,” Cllr Brown said.

He also said he wanted to ensure the new local authority that will replace Preston City Council in 2028 – covering a much wider area – is “set up in the right way”.

The government will make a decision on the geographical shape of that new council later this summer and although he said he was taking things “one step at a time”, Cllr Brown said he would “possibly” be interested in continuing to play an active role in the new local government order in Lancashire.

Meanwhile, Cllr Rawlinson told the LDRS that he wanted to “spend more time on other important aspects of my life”.

He added:  “I have enjoyed being deputy leader of the council of the city I love, but it’s unfair to the city, the council and Labour group when the media and opponents brand everything I say and do as the actions of the deputy leader – when many of those things have nothing to do with the role.

“I’m not going to shy away from expressing strong opinions on certain issues despite attempted smears and censorship.

“I can be just as influential on decision-making as cabinet member for resources, but it remains to be seen whether Labour will have the cabinet positions – I take nothing for granted.

“I do hope we can deliver our huge budget plans and continue to protect important aspects of Preston’s culture and heritage as the council heads towards reorganisation.”

Cllr Brown paid tribute to his departing deputy – who was first elected a councillor in 2003 – in a message on social media, describing him as  “the architect of substantial social progress in Preston [who] has been responsible for ending austerity at Preston City Council and will be working closely on our new cost of living package amongst many other things”.

Cllr Wise was also approached for comment.

Following the elections, Labour now hold 21 of the 48 seats on the city council.  The Liberal Democrats remain the official opposition with 14, Reform now hold five – up from just one – the Conservatives three and the Green Party secured their first two on the authority.

Of the three independents, two – Cllrs Liz Atkins and Carol Henshaw – were formerly Labour councillors, while the third, Cllr Freddie Bailey, is currently suspended from the party while under investigation over a matter that has not been made public, but he is understood to be hoping to return.

The Liberal Democrats have said they would not work with Reform UK in any alliance at the town hall, white the Green Party has ruled out an official coalition arrangement with Labour, saying only that their councillors will do whatever best represents the residents that elected them.

Labour lost six of the 10 seats they were defending when compared to the last time the tranche of 16 contested on Thursday was elected en masse back in 2022 – or four out of eight when based on a comparison that takes account of by-elections and resultant changes of hands since.

After a weekend of reflection, Cllr Brown said that while the results were “not brilliant”, he was buoyed that Preston’s Labour charge had held up better than the party’s performance in some other parts of the North West.   

 “We’re totally devastated for the candidates that we did lose, but in the context of the national situation, things could have been worse,” he said.