Sheffield Council uncertainty over way forward following Labour decision to oust leader
The Sheffield tree scandal finally cost the leader of Sheffield City Council his job on a day that was otherwise good news for the Labour Party in the city.
The news that Coun Terry Fox had been forced to resign and Sheffield Labour had been put into special measures by the party broke this morning (Friday, May 5), just hours before the election count started at the English Institute of Sport in Attercliffe.
All three major parties had a lot to celebrate when the results came in as they all retained the same number of seats, although Labour and Green both won and lost one seat each. This means that the council remains under no overall control, with Labour still the biggest party, followed by the LibDems and the Greens.
However, the news of the Labour Party’s actions threw the whole situation into disarray. It remains to be seen whether any disaffected Labour councillors will resign or jump ship but clearly the moves have rattled Coun Fox’s close allies.
However, the unhappiness about the situation, where leadership election candidates look set to be tightly controlled, will mean that disaffection will be spread far wider within the Sheffield party.
The council annual meeting on May 17 will bring the whole situation into sharp focus. Before that happens, there will also no doubt be behind-the-scenes talks between parties.
Greens
One key question is which way the Greens will jump.
Will they back Labour or be happier to see LibDem leader Shaffaq Mohammed as council leader? He has already posed that question publicly.
As Green deputy leader Coun Angela Argenzio has said today, there is a huge amount of mistrust of the council in the city. It’s not just the damning Lowcock Report into the tree-felling scandal, issues such as the clean air zone, proposed red line routes on Abbeydale and Ecclesall Roads and the ill-fated Fargate Container Park have all angered a lot of voters.
Although ward election turnouts have not yet been announced, it was clear that voting figures are down, exacerbated by the need to produce photo ID to vote for the first time.
More uncertainty about a way forward is unlikely to help rebuild that trust among voters.
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