Leadership changes at Central Bedfordshire Council
Thursday, 26 November 2020
Councillor James Jamieson, who has led Central Bedfordshire Council since 2011, has announced that he will be standing down from this role in January.
In a message to all Members of the Council, Councillor Jamieson explained that he had always intended to make way for a new Leader ahead of the next elections at the Unitary Authority in 2023 and that in doing so now, he will be able to devote more time to his role as Chairman of the national Local Government Association. He said:
It has been a privilege to be Leader at Central Bedfordshire Council, over the last nearly 10 years. The council has made huge strides in improving services to Adults and Children’s Services and developing our economy. I look forward to continuing as a councillor to support the new leader, who will build on this strong legacy.
In the context of the national crisis and the significant economic and social pressures which local government is facing as we recover from the pandemic, now is the right time for me to make way for a new Leader, so that I can devote more time to my national role
Over the next few weeks there will be an internal party election for a new Leader of the majority Conservative Group, who will be proposed as the new Council Leader at the January Council.