Introduction
For many of the borough residents this is a chart that has been long overdue. It’s almost a quarter of a century since the council chamber last saw a change in political direction and Phil Munday’s achievement in bringing together a progressive alliance between the recently elected Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors has been a long time coming.
While there may be those who complain that it took two weeks to announce the new Cabinet and get cross-party agreement to a series of essential Committee appointments, we shouldn’t underestimate the scale and importance of that task.
Those of you who’ve known Phil, Phillipa and Grainne over the years and have already seen them working together on important issues which resonate with the public, will see this as a coalition of like minds, an alliance of three parties whose complementary strengths outweigh any policy differences. Providing that they can continue to pull together, putting the borough first and leaving national party politics a distant second, then Havant’s future is already looking brighter.
The new Cabinet recognises the cross-party strengths that each party brings to this coalition.
| Cllr Phil Munday (Labour) | Leader of the Council and Chairman of Cabinet. Cabinet Lead for Corporate Strategy, Performance & External Relations |
| Cllr Philippa Gray (LibDem) | Deputy Leader and Cabinet Lead for Finance |
| Cllr Grainne Rason (Green) | Cabinet Lead for Climate Emergency, Environment & Water Quality |
| Cllr Richard Brown (Lab) | Cabinet Lead for Place |
| Cllr Amy Redsull (Lab) | Cabinet Lead for Housing |
| Cllr Paul Gray (LibDem) | Cabinet Lead for Commercial |
| Cllr Gillian Harris (Labour) | Cabinet Lead for Regeneration & Communities |
| Cllr Netty Shepherd (Green) | Assistant Cabinet Lead for Climate, Coastal & Green Spaces |
| Cllr Antonia Harrison (LibDem) | Assistant Cabinet Lead for Thriving Waterlooville |
The Committee structure and make-up reflects the new political balance across the Council. Take a look at the full breakdown by clicking the image below:
Given Havant Civic Society’s close interest in planning matters, it is encouraging to note that the Planning Committee has been extended to a headcount of ten, rather than the six members previously appointed. We hope that increased executive focus on local implementation of the planning system, coupled with more rigorous challenge by this expanded planning committee, will improve the quality of decision making and ensure that greater attention is paid to input provided by residents.
The Planning Committee provides residents with their only real opportunity to challenge development proposals which have been deemed ‘valid’ according to the simplistic ‘tick-box’ requirements of the planning system, but which are clearly and obviously inadequately or inaccurately evidenced in supporting documentation.
While the local implementation of the planning system is still biased in favour of the developer, the new open and balanced cabinet should reign in any temptation for political interference, accusations of which accompanied the previous administration’s approval of Amazon’s Portsmouth delivery station at New Lane and the approval given retrospectively at Tournerbury Woods on Hayling Island.
HCS will continue to work with the council to explore opportunities for quality improvements at the pre-planning stage in order to drive down the number of troubled development proposals which pass virtually unchecked through the ‘validation gate’, leading to otherwise avoidable enforcement issues and legal challenges.
Watch the 15 May Annual Council Meeting
The Council Meeting can be watched in full at the HCS YouTube link below.
It’s worth listening to the whole 45 minutes recording, but if you’re short of time and just want to catch the highlights, we’ve picked them out for you below:
| Link | Meeting Highlight |
|---|---|
| Link 1 | The newly elected Mayor, Cllr. Peter Wade, introduces the proceedings and asks all the elected councillors to stand up in turn and introduce themselves. |
| Link 2 | The Election of the Leader. The Mayor asks if any member present wishes to debate the election of the new Leader. Cllr. Gwen Robinson tries to set out a case for continuation of the Conservative agenda and, following a prompt by the mayor, puts herself up for election. |
| Link 3 | Cllr. Neil Bowdell seconds Cllr. Robinson’s nomination, then embarks upon a rambling lecture on the pros and cons of proportional representation, something not lost on the listening audience. |
| Link 4 | Cllr. Phillipa Gray proposes Cllr. Munday for the position of Leader, and in her supporting statement gently and succinctly acknowledges the entertainment value of Cllr. Bowdell’s lecture. |
| Link 5 | Cllr. Grainne Rason seconds the nomination of Cllr. Munday, adding that ‘fairness runs through Cllr. Munday like Brighton through rock.’ |
| Link 6 | Cllrs. Richard Brown and Amy Redsull express their support for the nomination. |
| Link 7 | Cllr. Ryan Brent picks up Cllr Bowdell’s theme and doesn’t really help the Conservative group’s cause by quoting national party sound-bites. |
| Link 8 | Cllr. Mark Coates can’t resist the open goal. |
| Link 9 | The Mayor directs the council to a vote, interrupted by Cllr. Bowdell’s call for a ‘recorded vote’. A boon to viewers unable to see the full council, but possibly not giving the result he’d hoped for. |
| Link 10 | The result is announced by the Mayor, with all twenty-one elected members of the alliance unanimously voting for Cllr. Munday, the eleven Conservative members present voting for Cllr. Robinson, and the two Reform UK members abstaining. Cllr. Munday is duly elected leader and makes his address to the assembled council before proceeding with the remaining business of the session. |
While the Portsmouth News article described the leadership debate as ‘robust’, to most ears the contributions of the Conservative members came over as an unnecessarily petulant display of sour grapes.
More successful Conservative-run councils in the south east over the past decade have put the needs of their residential stakeholders first and pushed back against locally inappropriate central party policies, particularly on planning and housing. Therein lies the way forward for Havant’s core of Conservative Councillors who need now to quietly reflect, learn the lessons which should be obvious and regroup under more progressive leadership. There’s a job to be done and Havant Council would still benefit from a constructive Conservative voice to complete the balance.