Reform UK launched a surprise attempt to seize control of Coventry City Council despite being short of an overall majority. Labour remains the dominant party on the authority with 24 seats, falling four short of the threshold required for outright control. The group plans to establish a minority administration, although it has reached an understanding with the Greens.
Prior to the AGM, the party revealed in a press release that Cllr George Duggins (Lab, Longford) would carry on as council leader, with Lynnette Kelly (Lab, Earlsdon) assuming the position of deputy leader. Cllr Antony Tucker (Lab, Earlsdon), chairman of Coventry's Labour group, put forward Cllr Duggins as the council's leader for the forthcoming year.
But following a speech in which he said Labour had come out on top in the city's elections, Reform UK, who hold just 20 seats, launched a bid to take the leadership. Cllr Marcus Lapsa (Reform, Tile Hill & Canley) nominated his party's leader Jackie Gardiner (Sherbourne) as a rival candidate for the overall leadership of the authority.
The Leader of the Council holds a commanding role, heading the Cabinet and appointing all Cabinet members and committee chairs. Such a position would have granted Reform considerably greater sway over the authority than its current 20 seats afford.
Cllr Lapsa said: "This decision is not simply about choosing a person for a position. It's about choosing the direction of our city. It is about deciding whether Coventry continues on the same tired path of political deals, divisions, and decline. Or whether we finally listen to what the people of Coventry have been telling us loud and clear, they want change. Reform UK polled more votes than Labour across this city. This is not a protest that can be simply ignored. It is the clearest possible sign that residents have lost their faith in the famed Labour administration, and the way this council has been run for far too long. People are fed up with the same promises, the same excuses, the same political games. They are tired of decisions being made behind closed doors, where ordinary residents struggle with the rising costs, neglected services, and a city that too often feels as though it's standing still, instead of moving forward. And what has been the response from Labour? Internal squabbles, division, infighting, and political manoeuvring, as we know. Coventry people should not be forced to endure another year of misery, because of the disagreements and instability within the Labour group."
He took aim at the newly-formed partnership between Labour and the Greens, branding it "an unholy alliance" driven purely by political expediency and engineered to keep Labour firmly in control. "Under Jackie's leadership, this council would have the opportunity to move in a new direction," said Cllr Lapsa, "one focused on transparency, proper scrutiny, better decision-making, and putting Coventry people first. We need fresh energy in this city. We need fresh thinking. We need leadership that is prepared to admit when things have gone wrong, and has the courage to do things differently. Because if we continue with more backroom deals, more infighting, just for political survival tactics, the people of Coventry will continue to lose faith in this chamber altogether. Nationally, people can already see what's happening to Labour, like two-tier Kier. This administration risks becoming the dead man walking, out of touch with the people it's supposed to represent. So today I urge you to look beyond party politics and think about the message residents sent at the ballot box. The need for change is going across every part of this city. Let us breathe new energy, new purpose, and a new direction into Coventry."
But Labour leader Cllr Duggins hit back at Reform, stating: "We will see as the weeks go by, how much you will be prepared to do for Coventry. Coventry comes first, not yourselves, and that's really where it needs to be. I've seen the nonsense on your electoral literature: 'A broken council'. You are not that qualified that you can say what is and what isn't a broken council. This is the council that will be going forward and this is the council that will take Coventry forward to the future, to 2029 and beyond. And many of you probably won't be there in 2029 because I'll make a prediction, that Nigel Farage doesn't win the next election. Reform will be gone like wind through a hedge and you'll be gone with them."
Reform's bid for control fell short when Cllr Duggins was voted in as council leader, securing 26 votes against Cllr Gardiner's 19. There were six abstentions.
