New council leader elected

Liberal Democrat nominee Cllr Jake Berriman comfortably won a vote to become Powys Council leader and take over the role from Cllr James Gibson-Watt.

Ahead of the council’s annual meeting on Thursday, May 15, Cllr Berriman had received the backing of his Liberal Democrat group to take over the helm at county hall and lead the coalition which includes Labour and Green Party up to the next local elections in May 2027.

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But at the meeting a rival candidate emerged, as Conservative group leader Cllr Aled Davies also threw his hat in the ring.

This meant that both candidates were given five minutes each to make their pitch to councillors before a secret ballot was held to settle the contest.

Cllr Berriman said: “My group may be the largest, but this administration has no overall majority, and, in this fragility, I think lies our strength it means that every voice and vote counts for something.

“There can be no room for complacency and every vote earned if we are to take the tough decisions that lie ahead of us.

“We have more in common than seperate us and that is a solid platform on which we can build better collaborative approaches for what remains of our term in office.

“I’m talking about harnessing our collective experience and knowledge, working in communities to make every penny count.

“Neither I nor the administration have the answers to all the difficulties we face in delivering our ambitions and meeting the pressing needs of those we serve.”

He said he would try to strengthen his relationships with all councillors and be a “listening leader.”

Then came Cllr Davies term as he appealed to councillors by saying that there is a need to “accelerate” the council’s transformation of services to deliver for residents.

Cllr Davies said: “When resources are tight, we need to focus on the council’s core business and deliver true value for money at all times, my priorities are our highways, social services and on top of that list our schools.

“We must not pour resources into unachievable targets such as Net Zero by 2030 and other environmental targets unless there is a clear financial case that benefits the residents of Powys.

“Education is number one, Estyn’s recommendations are crystal clear, we must get back on track, all our learners deserve an excellent education experience here in Powys, but we are asking our school heads to do the impossible, limited resources are spread too thinly.”

Cllr Davies said that he had “struggled” with some of the decisions taken by the cabinet over the last couple of years, and was “frustrated” that progress had been too slow.

But he pointed out successes by the cabinet, with social services, housing and homelessness and planning services singled out for praise.

Cllr Davies said: “We are all passionate about delivering the best services we can, but we must not shrink away from change.

“It’s time to put our communities first, I will lead from the front and want to put together a coalition of the willing and the able and a strong team together from across the council.”

Following the speeches both councillors left the chamber as the vote took place.

Minutes later it was announced that Cllr Berriman had received 42 votes and Cllr Davies 20 votes.