Following the election of two weeks ago, it has been revealed that the City of York Council will be led by a Liberal-Democrat coalition with the Green party. This leaves Labour as the main opposition group, where new Labour Group leader Councillor Danny Myers said the party will be pushing the administration to implement policies from our recent election manifesto.
York’s Greens and Lib Dems have secured a deal to run the council together having both ruled out discussing power sharing arrangements with Labour. Recently leaked minutes of the Green Party’s discussion on power sharing shows Green Group Leader Andy D’Agorne didn’t provide any options to Green party members to work with Labour in a two or three party Coalition.
As the council’s largest party, Liberal Democrats have been silent since the election on the possibility of working with Labour until confirming last night they were entering a deal with the Greens.
Cllr. Myers said:
“It’s disappointing to see the Greens going into Coalition with a party that has failed the city and its residents so badly over the past four years. It’s also surprising to see the Greens lean towards the Lib Dems given their dreadful record on ‘green’ policies in recent years. Recycling rates have flatlined and cycle and bus journeys have gone down, with the Lib Dems’ focus being elsewhere. Their ‘greenest city in the north’ pledge from 2015 has been one of their most notable failures in running the council.
“Labour will support a genuinely progressive agenda for York but see scant evidence of that following the Lib Dems’ role in taking an axe to public services whilst propping up the Tories in power since 2010, locally and nationally.
“Local Liberal Democrats have had no response to the biggest real terms wage drop in the country and house prices soaring to around ten times the average salary. These are the big issues affecting local people and Labour will provide and push for the right solutions from opposition.
“York Central appears to be a key dividing line for the two parties with Lib Dems backing the high carbon development and the Greens opposing it in its current form. It will be interesting to see how important the issues of air pollution and traffic congestion still are to the Greens, on that development and elsewhere, now they are in power.
“It seems to be a Coalition built on very shaky foundations from day one. We’re looking forward to providing the solid opposition the city is going to desperately need given the deal that has been struck”.