Kirklees councillors risk missing England match with another crunch meeting to name leader
The local authority has been without a leader since the May local elections
The council have said the all-out council meeting to decide on a leader will go ahead as planned despite England’s appearance at the World Cup semi-final.
Last Saturday (July 11), England advanced to the World Cup semi-finals by beating Norway 2-1.
Yet their appearance at the semi-finals – to be played at the Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday, July 15, at 8pm – may well be missed by Kirklees Councillors due to the ongoing leadership gridlock.
A spokesperson from Kirklees Council confirmed that the “meeting will not be moved due to the football and will go ahead as usual” despite the meeting beginning at 5:30 pm – just two-and-a-half hours before kickoff.
Speaking on the meeting, councillors appeared to agree that the “most important thing” was that the council choose a leader.
Group Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Anthony Smith, said: “I was certainly open to the meeting being brought forward if practical, but the most important thing has always been to ensure that council business can proceed, and in particular the substantive issue of electing a leader.”
Meanwhile, Green Party councillor, Martin Price, assured that electing a leader and therefore a cabinet was “more important than ANY football game”.
This was seconded by the Leader of the Kirklees Independent Group – Councillor Habiban Zaman – who explained the council had a “responsibility” to make a decision.
Cllr Zaman said: “Like millions of people across the country, we are looking forward to supporting England in the semi-final and wish the team every success.
“However, our responsibility as elected councillors is first and foremost to the residents of Kirklees. The Council has been without stable political leadership for too long, and tomorrow’s meeting is an important opportunity to elect a Leader and move the authority forward.”