New Tory opposition leader assesses defeat and Reform pledges

The defeat suffered by the Conservatives in last week’s Lancashire County Council elections was more a reflection of the national political mood than the result of discontent with local services, according to the new leader of the Tory group on the authority.

Former cabinet member Aidy Riggott was speaking after being unanimously elected to head the eight remaining Conservative members at County Hall.

He will replace former county council leader Phillippa Williamson, who lost her Lancaster Rural North seat in the local election rout, which saw the Tory tally slashed from 48 after the last poll in 2021 – and Reform UK seize control from the party after eight years in charge.

County Cllr Riggott – who was responsible for economic development and growth under the now ousted administration – told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the Conservatives, under his former boss, had gifted Reform an authority that was in a “stable, strong position”.

“Throughout the local elections, when we were speaking to residents, the vast majority of feedback we got was [about] dissatisfaction with national policies on a number of issues – and I think [other] parties would say that, too – rather than particular criticism of local performance.

“Most people, objectively, would say they thought the county council was well-run and scandal-free…[even if there were] different views about the priorities,” said the member for Euxton, Buckshaw and Astley, who has sat on the county authority since 2017, and now leads the largest of the opposition groups.

He said he was concerned he had not seen “a plan” from Reform about how they intended to address the issues they had raised during the campaign – and accused the party of viewing local government through “a very simplified lens”.

“I think [they have thought], ‘This is really easy – we shouldn’t do this [or] we shouldn’t do that’ – rather than recognising the county council is a huge organisation providing many services in a very complex way,” said County Cllr Riggott, who acknowledged that the result for the Tories had been “very disappointing”.

Reform – both locally and via party leader Nigel Farage – lambasted the authority in the run-up to the vote for accruing £1.2bn of debt, resulting in daily interest payments in excess of £100,000.

The local group’s most senior member – and a contender to lead it – County Cllr Stephen Atkinson said after the party’s victory on Friday that it had been realistic in making limited promises to the electorate, including one to increase planned road repair funding by £31m over the next two years, provided the budget can be balanced.

However, County Cllr Riggott said if the new ruling group tried to slash the debt it had expressed such concern about, it would be faced with unpalatable choices.

“[We had] significant plans to invest through [capital borrowing] in a new cricket development at Farington, a new innovation hub at Samlesbury and the development of the site at the end of the M65 [once earmarked for an IKEA store].

“If they are now…going to reduce that debt, which I guess could only be done by selling assets, like libraries, museums and business parks – which they haven’t said they won’t do – I’m not sure how some of these things will be delivered,” County Cllr Riggot added.

Asked whether he thought the opposition groups at County Hall would be likely to co-operate with each other in the face of a strong Reform majority, he noted that the collective span of opposition was more “fragmented” now that the Tories were part of it rather than its target.

“You might find different groups focus on different areas of holding the administration to account, which may complement each other – and may leave space for each other,” he mused.

“I think the opposition will be good –  It’s just going to be, I suspect, different to the way it has been.”

In addition to the Conservatives’ eight county councillors, Labour now have five – down from 32 in 2021 – while the Liberal Democrats have five and the Green Party four, up from two each previously.    There are also now seven independents, some of whom are likely to work together.

County Cllr Riggott, whose deputy will be fellow former cabinet member Peter Buckley – who held the cultural services portfolio – pledged to hold Reform to account on a raft of campaign talking points, including promised referenda on an elected Lancashire mayor and a government-ordered shake-up that will see all 15 Lancashire councils scrapped and replaced with a handful of new ones.