A new administration has been appointed to lead Southend-on-Sea City Council after being voted in at Full Council last night (Monday 20 May).
At the recent local elections, no party gained the required majority to lead the council outright. However, the Labour Party has 20 seats and have formed a joint administration with the Independent and Liberal Democrat groups.
Councillor Daniel Cowan is therefore the new Leader of the Council and after appointing his cabinet at the meeting, said: “It is a great honour to become the new Leader of the Council. I am looking forward to working with the cabinet on behalf of all our residents, businesses and local partners.
“We will strive to achieve the very best for the city and collectively are determined to work hard, provide stability to the council, deliver good services and improve lives for local people.
“We are also looking forward to working with all council staff to achieve this, as we recognise the important contributions of council officers who do their jobs so well.”
The new cabinet is as follows:
- Cllr Daniel Cowan, leader of the council and cabinet member for infrastructure and corporate strategy
- Cllr Anne Jones, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for planning and housing
- Cllr Laurie Burton, cabinet member for children, young people and SEND
- Cllr Ian Gilbert, cabinet member for regeneration, major projects, and regulatory services
- Cllr Matt Dent, cabinet member for culture, tourism, and business
- Cllr Lydia Hyde, cabinet member for climate, environment, and waste
- Cllr Maxine Sadza, cabinet member for social care and healthier communities
- Cllr Paul Collins, cabinet member for finance, assets and investments
- Cllr Martin Terry, cabinet member for community safety
Appointments to the various committees were also formally agreed. These can be viewed on our democracy pages. The Joint Administration Agreement can be viewed at Joint Administration Agreement.