The Leader of the North West Leicestershire District Council's Labour Group, Sean Sheahan, has issued an open letter to all councillors elected on May 4 - requesting their co-operation for a Labour-led minority administration.

It is also addressed to Conservative, Lib Dem and Independent councillors.

The decision on which party runs the new council will be taken at the Annual Council Meeting tomorrow night (Tuesday).

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Councillors,

On the 4th of May the voters of North West Leicestershire voted for change and elected 17 Labour Councillors, making Labour the largest group by a clear margin.

I believe this result happened for two reasons.

Firstly, people in North West Leicestershire rejected the Conservative Party for looking tired and being out of touch.

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Secondly, voters backed Labour policy for change that put people first by pledging: 

• Better protection for the countryside and green spaces. Firmer control of housing numbers and warehousing.
• Improve household recycling systems. Tackle fly tipping with heavier fines and free bulky waste collection.
• Enforce planning conditions and act swiftly to stop developments taking place without proper permission.
• Clampdown on rogue landlords. More social homes for rent. Improve energy efficiency to reduce bills.
• More start-up units with support through a reduced business rate. Investment in our town centres.

On Tuesday, May 23, all elected councillors of North West Leicestershire District Council will vote on which direction the area takes for the next four years.

It is the intention of the largest group, the Labour Group, to nominate its leader for the Council Leader position and to serve local communities as a minority Administration, offering to work co-operatively with the other political groups.

We would then seek to pursue the policy for change that was accepted by local voters.

If votes in Council frequently end in deadlock, we will consider measures such as a return to the committee system, allowing proposals to improve the local area to be debated on a case-by-case basis, examining the pros and cons as we move forward together.

This would be a healthier arrangement than closed back-room agreements to push through a party's agenda no matter what.

I hope you will support the co-operative minority model of governance going into the District Council AGM and I look forward to working with every member of the District Council.

Yours faithfully,

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Councillor Sean Sheahan