North Yorkshire County Council will be asked to elect a new leader next week after Councillor Carl Les was today elected leader of the Conservative Group, replacing Cllr John Weighell, who has resigned.
Cllr Les was unopposed for the post and will now be put forward to lead the county council when it meets next week. He replaces Cllr Weighell who was the county council’s leader for nearly 14 years.
Cllr Les, who has served as a member of Cllr Weighell’s Executive throughout his leadership and was latterly his deputy, says it will be business as usual.
Cllr Les said: The challenges for this large, rural and beautiful county are the same; it’s just the people leading that have changed.
We still have £74 million in savings to find – that is what the Government expects of us – and that means delivering services in different ways. There are no sacred cows, we have to look at everything we do – but we must continue to protect vulnerable children and help the elderly stay at home for longer as most wish.
We must also look at the devolution being offered to local government and find out what that will mean for an authority like North Yorkshire.
I have been a member of John’s team for a long time, so I know all the challenges. It is a privilege to have the chance now to lead the county council into the future.
Cllr Gareth Dadd, who has been Executive Member for Business and Environmental Services, has been elected Deputy Leader.
