Linda Taylor elected as leader of Cornwall Council for a third year

Council leader Cllr Linda Taylor has vowed Cornwall Council will continue to be a flagbearer for rural local authorities nationwide after her re-election at the authority’s Annual Meeting.

The meeting took place in the Council Chamber at County Hall in Truro, and saw two nominations for leader, Cllr Linda Taylor and Cllr Julian German.

Cllr Taylor was elected by 47 votes to 33, and immediately confirmed that she would be reappointing her current Cabinet colleagues for the next year.

She told the meeting: "Thank you for electing me as leader for the next year.  It is, and continues to be, the greatest honour of my life to lead this council and to work daily to improve the lives of our residents.

"It is incumbent on me to now appoint my cabinet for the next twelve months, and I have absolutely no hesitation in announcing that there will be no changes to the nine colleagues who have shown real dedication and commitment to Cornwall in the past 12 months."

The meeting also saw the re-election of Cllr Pauline Giles as Chairman of the Council, and Cllr Jordan Rowse as vice-chairman for the third successive year.

Following her election Cllr Taylor gave her annual ‘State of Cornwall in the National Context’ speech, which outlines how the council has performed in comparison to the rest of the UK over the past 12 months.

She said:  "The past year has also proved to be a pivotal one in the role of Cornwall within the national context. Since this administration took office, we have enjoyed several moments in the national and indeed international spotlight.

"We have previously seen world leader’s gathering in Carbis Bay, world class cyclists racing through our streets, and earlier this year, and the first attempt at a horizontal satellite launch from British soil at Cornwall Spaceport.

"Although we all know that the launch was not an unqualified success, there was much Cornwall could be proud of, and we did nothing but enhance our standing in the eyes of the rest of the world."

Cllr Taylor concluded: “Despite the successes of the past 12 months, we cannot and will not become complacent. We still have much work to do to achieve the tough targets we have set ourselves and far from ‘just managing’ out the next two years, I want the Council to remain aspirational and continue to be the flagbearer for rural councils.

“We will do that by securing further powers and funding for Cornwall; together with doing more to provide great value for our local taxpayers’ money with improving services delivered on budget.”

Annual reports from the Standards Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny were also be received and discussed, as well as a report from the working group on bullying, intimidation and harassment, which recommended that the authority should support the Local Government Association’s ‘Debate not Hate’ campaign.

A motion calling for the council to commit to support Cornwall’s farmers by using locally produced seasonal good wherever possible, and by developing stronger partnerships and being supportive of diversification opportunities was also debated and supported.