21/05/2026
First District Council meeting - statement: Why I'll be in (constructive) opposition at Huntingdonshire District Council (like I am in Cambridgeshire County Council)
Congratulations Cllr Stephen Ferguson for your election as chair, Cllr Burke for vice chair, and Cllr Conboy re-elected as executive leader (and her cabinet team).
There have been many conversations and online commentary after the elections asking if I will join one "coalition" or another. I have chosen not to comment on this topic until the result of the full council meeting, but given some of the stuff that I have seen said referencing this topic, both online and privately, it is time for me to share my views.
First of all - not joining a power sharing agreement does not mean I do not “work in the interests of residents”. All residents had a say on the 7th of May, and the result was No Overall Control, showing the fractured nature of our politics, and mirroring what happens in many other councils across the UK.
Holding an administration to account, like to do in my opposition role at the county council, is essential to how our democracy works. There is no democracy without opposition. Opposition does not have to be theatrical, it can be constructive, and can deliver for residents.
Being in opposition does not mean I “align with the Tories or Reform”. I disagree with both those parties on a wide range of policies. However, just because I disagree with these parties, again it does not mean there is absolutely no scope of agreement on local issues. For example, I’ve already worked cross party as a county councillor with my Independent and Conservative county colleagues locally, for example in our response to the A141 consultation. Many residents actually want people to be sensible and not be overly partisan on local issues.
Not joining a formal coalition also does not mean I will not continue to work hard for my residents, being active, doing surgeries, doing casework, representing residents on a wide range of working groups, meetings and other forums. Being a “good councillor” is not dependent on whether you want to be part of a coalition or not. There are good councillors in power, and good councillors in opposition. There are people who get stuff done both in power and in opposition. I have seen many examples of that both in local and national politics.
Not joining a formal coalition also does not mean opposition for opposition sake. I worked cross party before at the county council and I work cross party in my “day job". There are many topics, especially at the local level, where all parties can work together on, or most parties. Take for example local government reorganisation - I vocally supported, and continue to support Option E for a Huntingdonshire-only council, which Lib Dems, Greens, Independents and Tories support (and to be fair to Reform they listened to the debate and did not oppose it even if there were some arguments against) and this does not change whether I am in administration or not. A lot of local issues I worked on, from highways at county to LGR, have cross-party working groups. Not being in administration does not mean you cannot constructively work on things you agree on.
On balance, and given my experience in this district council campaign and also on the county council, and my previous experience working in coalition with the Lib Dems between 2021-2025 at the county, I have come to my own conclusion that I can represent best not only Labour policies, but also residents, focusing my time on local work in my ward, and providing constructive scrutiny and challenge, while supporting the administration on the things we do agree on, in the interest of residents.
The result is still a Lib Dem-led administration. I voted for Cllr Ferguson as chair not because I agree with his party but because I thought he was an excellent chair of Cambridgeshire County Council - always fair to both administration and opposition. I abstained on the leader vote as they had the numbers anyway, and I do not want to endorse either of a Lib Dem or Tory leader - again, this does not mean I cannot work cross party.
When people vote for a councillor, they do not vote for a certain power sharing agreement. Whoever is elected can choose or not to partake, and then explain their justification to residents. I appreciate there will be different views on this - some will agree with me, some will find it disappointing. I am happy to speak about this with any resident and explain why I made this choice.
I wish the new coalition all the best going forward in what will be a much shorter term of this council - before the new unitary councils will be in place.
