New Leader of Kirklees Council pledges 'stability' and 'transparency' after turbulent time for the district

Kirklees Council has seen an eventful few years set against a backdrop of serious financial challenges.

The local authority lost its Labour majority at May’s local elections, with the group’s numbers already reduced, as allegations of “toxic” behaviour and “bullying” swirled and members rejected the party’s stance on the Middle East.

Amid these complex set of circumstances, Coun Pattison was elected as Council Leader following a vote in July.

She replaced the outgoing Labour-turned-Independent Leader of the Council, Coun Cathy Scott, who was ousted in a vote of no confidence.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) interviewed Coun Pattison to learn of her priorities for Kirklees in her new post, and her approach to tackling some key challenges facing the local authority.

We asked Coun Pattison if she could give the public her assurance that her new administration can bring stability to Kirklees following what has been a tumultuous time for the local authority and Labour group.

“From my perspective, I can give it, yes, absolutely – that’s what my intention is – to give stability for at least four years or however long”, she said.

“I think the cabinet that I have chosen, their ability and their experience and expertise shows that they too can provide that stability and assure the public that they can do a good job.

“The Labour group as a whole now is in a far better position than it was when those accusations of toxicity were made. The whole Labour group, the cabinet and myself are in a far better position now.”

Councillor Pattison described the Labour group’s past year as one of “instability and turmoil”, under the leadership of Coun Cathy Scott, resulting in the loss of 15 members for “all sorts of reasons”.

She added: “I think some of it, if not most of it, she [Coun Scott] has to be able to account for.”

After its significant local elections loss, particularly in North Kirklees, Coun Pattison said the group was working to improve relations with the public.

The group lost four seats in the north of the borough to Independents, at least in part, reflecting public attitudes towards the party’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict and desire for change.

She said: “It has been an awful time for all councillors in North Kirklees, be they Muslim or otherwise.

“Our Muslim council members have faced enormous pressure from different communities. It hasn’t just been North Kirklees, some of it has been in South Kirklees as well.

“We’ve been out there and we’re listening to them [councillors], we’re going to go out into communities themselves to try to build back support for the Labour Party through their local membership branches and things like that.

“There has been orchestration against Labour Party members which has not been fair and accusations made which are just untenable and they need our support from the Labour group now and the Labour Party more nationally, and regionally as well.”

Following these losses and earlier defections, two independent groups – the Kirklees Community Independents, led by ex-Labour councillor Jo Lawson, and the Kirklees Community Alliance, led by ex-Council Leader and former Labour councillor, Coun Cathy Scott – are sitting on the council with six members apiece.

There are a further four Independents who don’t belong to any group.

We asked whether Coun Pattison felt the council’s growing Independent presence was of concern in terms of council stability.

In response, she explained that her concern wasn’t because the councillors were Independents but due to their lack of “experience”, “knowledge” and “understanding” and the “platform they’ve been elected on”.

She continued: “If any councillor now thinks they’ve been elected on being able to sort Gaza out, by being a councillor for Kirklees – they can’t do it from being a councillor in Kirklees – and there’s so much more they need to concentrate on in terms of making sure that Kirklees services deliver to everybody fairly.

“And if there’s any truth in the accusation that the north of Kirklees has lost out on the funding or been overlooked by services – which I don’t think there is – but if there’s any truth in that, then they need to be concentrating on what’s happening on the ground in their local wards and sorting that before anything else.

“Unfortunately, it’s been shown that they really don’t understand local government and what it’s here to do.”

Coun Pattison has come into post at a tough time for the local authority marked by financial challenges and the looming threat of bankruptcy, or a ‘Section 114 Notice’.

She said that the council “has to stay away” from becoming a Section 114 authority and avoid government commissioners coming in, putting a stop to all non-statutory spending.

When it comes to the budget, she explained that the council wants to support vulnerable people first and ensure people can cope with the cost of living, ill health, and children in need.

To address its financial position and sizable overspend, the council made some decisions like increasing parking charges, closing some of its buildings and making staff redundancies, which have proved to be highly unpopular with the public.

At the same meeting she was elected as council leader, Coun Pattison “paused” plans that would have seen charges rolled out at free car parks across the borough’s towns and villages.

The LDRS asked Coun Pattison whether she had plans to review or stop any of the other unpopular measures that had been put in place.

She said: “Not reviewing measures that have already been brought in but certainly there’s a lot of unpopular, suggested closures of various different buildings or facilities, particularly sports facilities.

“I’m not so much going to reverse those decisions but we’ve really got to look at them quickly.

“People have been left in suspense for too long about many of these decisions, almost the sword of Damocles being above different organisations’ heads.”

She said she wanted to put an end to the council’s “dithering” when it comes to decision-making, and that the public deserved “clarity”. She also spoke of the importance of cabinet acting quickly to provide residents with “certainty and stability”.

To overcome the financial challenges, Coun Pattison said parties from across the council would have to work together. She continued: “I would have done anyway to a certain extent, to be honest.

“My particular leadership style is far more open and transparent than perhaps previous leaders have been. And when we’re in such difficult times as we have been, and will continue to be for a couple of years no doubt, it is only fair that we all take some responsibility for those budget-making decisions.”

The new Labour government, four Labour MPs covering Kirklees constituencies, a re-elected West Yorkshire Labour Mayor and a full Labour cabinet in Kirklees, presents a “wonderful opportunity”, according to Coun Pattison.

She sees it as a chance to “solidify” all tiers of government and get some stability in West Yorkshire and beyond.

Addressing the role of central government in the difficulties faced at a local level and a need for fair funding, Coun Pattison said: “The funding formula which was changed when the last government came into power … it cripples us, in terms of the funding that we got, so, everything that the Labour government has said now really does give me hope that they will listen to what we need in terms of providing those public services.”

Setting out her “biggest priority” at the moment, Coun Pattison said she wants to listen to local people and understand the real issues they face.

She continued: “The cost of living hasn’t gone away, and the lack of public services that there have been…health services being in a mess.

“We’ve got to be able to listen to our communities and really work out what their priorities are, and work on regaining that idea of public service that they support.

“I really feel that I’ve got to make sure that all of those different elements of public service have got to really work together for the benefit of the people of Kirklees.”