Les to be elected county council leader

County Coun Les was elected leader of the ruling Conservative group today and will be put forward as council leader at a meeting next week.

He will replace County Coun John Weighell who is stepping down after almost 14 years in the role.

Coun Les said; “The challenges for this large, rural and beautiful county are the same; it’s just the people leading that have changed.

“We still have £74 million in savings to find – that is what the Government expects of us – and that means delivering services in different ways.”

Coun Les, who was elected unopposed, said there would be “no sacred cows” in the authority’s hunt for savings.

County Coun Gareth Dadd, executive member for business end environmental services, was also selected to be deputy leader.