THE STORM clouds had been gathering over the political landscape of Kirklees for some time - and it all came to a head at a dramatic meeting last night.

Councillor Carole Pattison has been elected as Kirklees Council’s new leader, after a tense meeting of full council saw Cllr Cathy Scott ousted by a vote of no confidence.

The political make-up of Kirklees, which includes Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Birkenshaw, is much more complex than that seen in neighbouring Bradford. Kirklees Council remains in a state of no overall control, being run as a minority administration.

The vote of no confidence put forward by Kirklees’ Labour group said that Cllr Scott and her Cabinet had “no legitimate mandate” to run the council. While Cllr Scott described this as “deeply flawed”, the motion went through.

This prompted a vote for a new council leader to be held immediately, with two candidates put forward – Labour’s Cllr Carole Pattison, and the Community Alliance’s Habiban Zaman.

Councillor Pattison was victorious, with 23 Labour councillors voting her in, 19 members voting against, and the remaining 22 abstaining.

Soon after, Cllr Pattison set out her Cabinet and their portfolios as follows:

Deputy Leader: Cllr Moses Crook (Holme Valley South)

Children’s Services: Cllr Viv Kendrick (Heckmondwike)

Finance and Regeneration: Cllr Graham Turner (Golcar)

Health and Adult Services: Cllr Bev Addy (Colne Valley)

Councillors Munir Ahmed (Dalton), Tyler Hawkins (Dalton) and Amanda Pinnock (Ashbrow) will also be taking seats in Cabinet, though their portfolios are yet to be announced.

Councillor Pattison’s election followed a lengthy debate on Labour’s vote of no confidence motion which said that then-leader Cllr Cathy Scott and her Cabinet had “no legitimate mandate to run the council”.

An amendment had been added to this motion by members of the Green and Community Independent groups which agreed that Cllr Scott should not be the leader of the council, but said that Labour also had no right to run the local authority. Instead, they proposed a move away from the current Leader and Cabinet model to a committee system, but this was not carried.

Councillor Pattison described Cllr Scott’s decision to form an independent group after losing Labour leadership as a “travesty for democracy”, and said: “Currently, we have a group of six people attempting to provide this leadership.

“We have an incomplete cabinet not only in numbers but in the skills and experience to provide an assurance to our communities that they are at the heart of all decisions made by this council.”

Councillor Scott had previously been the Leader of the Labour group but was replaced by Cllr Pattison, in May.

Councillor Scott had been expected to resign from her role as council leader but announced she was leaving the Labour Party at the local authority’s annual meeting, and would be continuing on in her role as Leader of the Council.