Quantcast
Channel: Leicester Mercury Latest Stories Feed
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

'Why is Leicestershire council leader on holiday in States?'

0
0

Questions have been raised about Conservative county council leader Nick Rushton's decision to miss a key meeting at County Hall next week with an election looming.

Councillor Rushton is on an extended Easter holiday with his family in America and will not be back for the next council cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Deputy council leader Byron Rhodes will run the meeting in his absence.

The meeting will be the third of nine to take place without Coun Rushton since he took over the leader's role in July after the resignation of David Parsons.

He missed a July meeting, when he was in America, and a pre-Christmas meeting.

Opposition councillors at County Hall questioned his decision to miss the meeting – at which a number of key decisions will be made – ahead of polls on May 2.

Changes are proposed to the council's budget and the future of children's centres will be discussed, along with the A426 bus corridor project.

Speaking from America, Coun Rushton said he had chosen to be away on holiday with his wife and teenage son during the school holidays to get some work-life balance.

County Hall's Liberal Democrat group leader Simon Galton said: "I am surprised Nick will not be at cabinet because it is the last one before the election and the Tories have deliberately spiced up the agenda with some pre-election goodies.

"They want to put £1 million back into the road maintenance budget, which is something we proposed at a recent council meeting and they rejected out of hand as impossible.

"Nick is a very different kind of leader to David Parsons. He does delegate more and he may say that is his style.

"I do find it strange that he is not here, hands on, running his party's election campaign.

"We are right in the thick of the campaign now. UKIP are out and about looking to take votes off all of us but particularly the Tories.

"My role (as group leader) at the moment is marshalling the troops and preparing for the election which is only weeks away.

"It surprises me Nick is not doing the same."

Labour group leader Max Hunt said: "When Nick took over he made quite some play of the fact he would be doing things differently and that he would be a leader for Leicestershire who would not be spending lots of time away.

"It's a shame he does not appear to be leading the council in the way he said he would. If he can be in the United States for a large proportion of the time, he will find it difficult to stop his members taking extended breaks.

"I would have thought he would want to be here. The time just before elections is when people expect us to be knocking on their doors.

"It's when we, as councillors, listen the most and learn the most."

Coun Rushton said: "The whole of Leicestershire doesn't rely on me being there.

"We are a collegiate administration. I have great confidence in my cabinet.

"We are not just one dominant leader and Byron Rhodes is perfectly capable.

"I've made sure it is a fairly light agenda."

"I have a business, a big job at North West Leicestershire (district council) and being leader at County Hall takes up a lot of time.

"I also have a wife who is 39 and a 15-year-old-son. I have missed two cabinets when he has been on holiday.

"I decided to take a few days off after Easter. It's a work-life balance. I can't defend it any more than that.

"I will just have to take a bit of flak from political opponents."

Mr Rushton said during his holiday he had been in regular contact with council officers and Tory colleagues in Leicestershire by phone and e-mail.

'Why is Leicestershire council leader on holiday in States?'


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images