LIB DEM TEAM FOR NEXT COUNCIL YEAR UNVEILED (Southwark Liberal Democrats)

Southwark Liberal Democrats <info@southwark-libdems.org.uk>

LIB DEM TEAM FOR NEXT COUNCIL YEAR UNVEILED

May 1, 2007 12:00 AM

Liberal Democrats on Southwark Council have unveiled their nominations for key positions on the authority in the coming local government year. The list of nominations is largely unchanged from that which has successfully managed the borough since last May's election.

This list of nominees which will be presented to Constitutional Assembly on May 23rd is:

Group Leader* and Leader of the Council - Nick Stanton

Group Deputy Leader* - Caroline Pidgeon

Executive Member for Children's Services - Caroline Pidgeon

Executive Member for Community Safety - Jeff Hook

Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Sports - Lorraine Zuleta

Executive Member for Health and Adult Care - Denise Capstick

Executive Member for Regeneration - Richard Thomas

Executive Member for Equalities, Communities and Citizenship - Columba Blango

Executive Member for Environment - Lisa Rajan

Chief Whip* - David Hubber

Deputy Whips*- Linda Manchester and Paul Noblet

Mayor - Bob Skelly

Deputy Mayor - Mackie Sheik

Group Chair* - James Gurling

Group Vice-Chair* - Jane Salmon

(positions marked * are group positions and not subject to Council Assembly vote)

Other positions, including Council committees, Community Councils and nominations to outside bodies will be decided next week.

Commenting on the Group Elections, Cllr Nick Stanton, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said:

"I am delighted that the Liberal Democrat Group has endorsed such a strong team for the coming year. In May 2006, Liberal Democrats stood on a platform of six key pledges. The highlights of our first year have been:

the decision to keep council tax rises to below RPI inflation whilst maintaining and enhancing front-line services
a steady rise in recycling rates and the successful introduction of a pilot compulsory recycling scheme
the announcement of a £12 million capital programme to bring the borough's leisure centres up to 21st century standards
the announcement of a £200 million investment in building schools for the future
significant progress in the regeneration of the Elephant and Castle and Canada Water
successful retention of our three star CPA rating"

"I am confident that we will continue to provide excellent services to the residents of Southwark in the coming year. The re-election of the existing members of the Executive shows the confidence that our Group has in the work that we have done over the past year."

"Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the retiring Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Both Paul and Eliza have been hugely energetic and successful in their work as the public face of the authority. They have conducted many hundreds of engagements and met many thousands of people. Next year's team will have a lot to live up to."