‘People had confidence in us, and I thank them’: City Council leader as Labour hold power in Hull
The Guildhall. Picture by Tom Arran Commercial Photography
The leader of Hull City Council has thanked voters for helping the ruling Labour group to “buck the trend” by retaining power at the Guildhall on a grim day for the party nationally.
After a tense day of counting, which was held at the Bonus Arena because of the pandemic, Labour entered its second decade of power in the city by winning nine of the 19 seats available, although it now has a reduced majority of just three seats over the Liberal Democrats, who also had cause to cheer.
The Lib Dems increased their number of seats at the authority by two to 26, unseating senior Labour cabinet members Peter Clark and Dave Craker.
The results in Hull provide a rare cause for celebration for Labour, which is reeling from the loss of the Hartlepool by-election to the Conservatives - the first time the Tories have won the seat for 62 years - and the loss of other councils elsewhere, in what was Keir Starmer’s first electoral test as Labour leader.
Hull Labour group leader, Coun Steve Brady, was there to applaud his winning colleagues, and commiserate with those who lost.
He said he believed Labour had retained its support in Hull because of how much the city has improved over the last ten years, and how well his party has managed the council’s budget in the face of massive funding cuts from central Government over the same period.
He said: “We are one of the few areas taking Conservative seats [Bricknell ward], but I have lost a couple of really good colleagues so I’m sad about that.
“In Hull we have bucked the trend. The one thing I’d say, I still believe the people of Hull recognise that huge changes have taken place in this city over the last ten years.
“The outside perception of Hull has improved tremendously and that’s really important to attracting business, attracting the movers and shakers, if you like, that we have got a lot to offer.
‘PEOPLE HAD CONFIDENCE IN US’: Council Leader Steve Brady, reflecting on Labour retaining power at the Guildhall. Picture by Tom Arran Commercial Photography
“The things we have done and invested in are paying dividends. The Maritime project will be finished in 18 months or so and that will be a real game changer for me in terms of attracting more and more people to this city.
“And also, I‘m absolutely convinced we will see major decisions which will bring a lot more investment into this city, and I’m very confident in that over the next few months and years.
“It takes a long time to turn a city round and bring good quality jobs to this area. We are now doing that but if it’s a long-term project sometimes it might seem we are not moving fast enough.
“But also we have had £130 million per annum taken out of our budget by central Government over the last ten years, and to say in that time we have had stability of employment for all of our employees, and without going through our reserves, I consider that to be a really prudent council.
“We’ve been investing heavily but put money aside for any eventuality and I’m quite proud of that.
“I think the people recognise that enough to have the confidence to vote for us again, and I thank them for doing that.”
RESULTS
(Showing newly elected councillors)
AVENUE: John Robinson (Lib Dem) HOLD / Votes: 1,759
BEVERLEY & NEWLAND: Mike Ross (Lib Dem) HOLD / Votes: 1,973
BOOTHFERRY: Alison Collinson (Lib Dem) HOLD / Votes: 1,320
BRICKNELL: Peter North (Labour) GAIN / Votes: 1,126
DERRINGHAM: David Woods (Lib Dem) HOLD / Votes: 979
DRYPOOL: Tracey Neal (Lib Dem) HOLD / Votes: 1,667
HOLDERNESS: Linda Tock (Lib Dem) HOLD / Votes: 1,445
INGS: Alan Gardiner (Labour) HOLD / Votes: 803
KINGSWOOD: Mark Bisbey (Lib Dem) HOLD / Votes: 974
LONGHILL & BILTON GRANGE: Julia Conner (Labour) HOLD / Votes: 869
MARFLEET: Sharon Belcher (Labour) HOLD / Votes: 674
NEWINGTON & GIPSYVILLE: Tracy Dearing (Labour) HOLD / Votes: 937
NORTH CARR: Jan Loft (Lib Dem) GAIN / Votes 728
ORCHARD PARK: Rosie Nicola (Labour) HOLD / Votes: 958
ST ANDREW’S & DOCKLANDS: Daren Hale (Labour) HOLD / Votes: 1,186
SOUTHCOATES: Hester Bridges (Labour) HOLD / Votes 1,096
SUTTON: Rhys Furley (Lib Dem) GAIN / Votes: 1,724
UNIVERSITY: Steve Wilson (Labour) HOLD / Votes: 695
WEST CARR: Chris Randell (Lib Dem) HOLD / Votes: 1,178
The highest turnout was 40.05 per cent in Avenue ward; the lowest was 14.62 per cent in Marfleet.