No confidence vote to be held against Cornwall Council leader
Cornwall Council's Conservative leader Linda Taylor has described the move against her as 'strange'
Last updated 7th Nov 2024
A vote of no confidence is being held against the leader of Cornwall Council.
An extraordinary meeting is being held today (Thursday 7 November) against Cllr Linda Taylor following concerns raised about the cabinet's decision to go ahead with finding a financial partner to run and develop the council's Newquay Airport estate.
Councillor Taylor says the move against her is "strange" but she won't let it affect her.
Cllr John Conway, who resigned from the Tory group a few months ago after calling Cllr Taylor a “dictator” tabled the original motion on Monday, September 30, with backing from former Cornwall Council leader, Independent councillor Julian German.
The vote of no confidence (VONC) motion was tabled again with 29 signatures attached and on Friday, October 11 a date was set for an extraordinary meeting for the vote at 10.30am.
Cllr Linda Taylor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
"Quite clearly, nobody has actually seen a deal; Cabinet haven’t seen a deal, we’re still in discussions. I find the timing a little bit odd. There’s obviously more to a vote of no confidence than the airport when you haven’t actually seen the deal.
"There has to be something else going on."
"I still want the best for Cornwall and I can’t let it affect me. It must not interfere with the normal business of this Conservative administration."
The vote of no confidence is almost an exact reversal of a similar move to oust Cllr German when he was leader of the council at the beginning of 2021. An extraordinary full council meeting was called that April after the motion was tabled by Cllr Taylor, who was then Tory group leader.
The motion to remove Cllr German as leader was lost with 40 votes in favour, 65 against and seven abstentions. A few weeks later, the Conservative group was voted into power. The next Cornwall Council election is on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
Former Tory leader of Cornwall Council Alec Robertson was removed from office following a vote of no confidence in 2012. The vote was held over the decision to push ahead with plans to part-privatise key council services. The full council had voted against the proposals.