Council's Labour leadership survives no confidence vote

Leader of the Conservatives on the Council Rebecca Poulsen said “enough was enough” and Bradford deserved better, citing numerous costly regeneration schemes – many of which have been delayed.

But the Tories also came under fire during the debate, with Labour councillors pointing out that the last time Bradford Council was Conservative-controlled, the city was left with the infamous “hole in the ground.”

A motion brought by the Conservatives, called “a catalogue of failures” urged other opposition parties, and Labour councillors, to vote to remove the Council’s current Labour Executive.

If successful, they would have been replaced by a cross-party group of councillors who would run the district.

Councillor Poulsen (left) and Councillor Hinchcliffe (Image: T&A) At tonight’s meeting, an alternative motion was put forward by the Greens and Liberal Democrats. It was similar to the Conservative motion, but pointed out that some of Bradford’s woes were down to years of Tory Government cuts.

Cllr Poulsen said: “It is with a heavy heart that I bring this motion. The failures of leadership can’t continue.”

Listing the failures of the Labour Executive, she referred to Children’s Services being removed from the control of the Council, the fact that the One City Park office development is currently only half let, and the fact that Bradford Interchange has been shut since January.

The One City Park office block has been branded a failure by the Conservative group (Image: newsquest) She added: “Darley Street Market is still not open following delay after delay while markets like the one in Keighley are crying out for investment.

“The latest failure has been Bradford Live – it looks fantastic but it is closed. I saw Cllr Hinchcliffe on TV saying it will be used during City of Culture, but that is different than being open. Are we going to store things there?

“Many decisions are being made by the Council Executive behind closed doors.”

She slammed the lack of communication with opposition councillors and the public over the Interchange closure and Bradford Live.

The closure of the Interchange bus station has been a source of frustration for Bradfordians (Image: Newsquest) She claimed a recent update to opposition parties on the Bradford Live issue was little more that the reading of a press release minutes before it was published.

She went on to read comments she had seen on the Telegraph & Argus website from members of the public calling for the leadership team to stand down.

Cllr Poulsen added; “I’m not bringing this motion lightly, but things can’t continue. You are failing the district. Enough is enough, Bradford residents deserve better.”

Delivering the Green/Lib Dem motion with a swipe at the Conservatives, Green Leader Matt Edwards hinted the motion could have been encouraged by Keighley Conservative MP Robbie Moore.

Did Tory MP Robbie Moore play a part in bringing about the no confidence motion? The Greens think so

Cllr Edwards said: “I’d like to thank the MP for Keighley for bringing this motion to Council, and thank Councillor Poulsen for doing a good job as his stooge.”

Turning his ire to Labour, he said: “It has been embarrassment after embarrassment. I love Bradford, but sometimes you make it so hard.

“The buck has to stop somewhere – when things go wrong the buck should stop with you. Bradford Live is the latest in a long line of failures. The city’s reputation is suffering.”

Councillor Edwards is far from impressed by the situation with the former Odeon, now known as Bradford Live (Image: Newsquest/Mike Simmonds) He said the Conservative motion had ignored the fact that Bradford, like many cities, had seen huge funding cuts by the Conservative Government over the past 14 years.

He added: “The Conservatives only have 13 councillors in this chamber – a new low for recent decades, and the General Election performance was the worst for a century.

“It is laughable that after that they thought ‘you know what, Bradford needs more input from us.’

“We know this motion isn’t a serious one Cllr Poulsen, if it was you could have contacted other groups before sending a press release to local papers urging other parties to back you.”

Returning to criticisms of the Labour group, he said: “I hope you know the people of Bradford are watching.”

Councillor Stubbs also has concerns about Bradford's regeneration (Image: T&A) Lib Dem Leader Councillor Brendan Stubbs said he knew of Labour councillors who shared concerns about the leadership, but added: “It is a shame you won’t put your hand up when it comes to the vote.

“This motion is backed up by residents who deserve better. Not only is regeneration failing on all fronts, but basic services are in an absolute shambles. Regeneration projects are delivering almost nothing for residents.”

Councillor Imran Khan, Deputy Leader, described the motion as “gesture politics at its worst” adding: “I’m treating it with the contempt it deserves.

“We were all elected by the people of the district and we (Labour) have a clear mandate to represent all the district. This is the politics of hate and division. You, along with others, always try to put Bradford down.

Few Bradfordians will ever forget the notorious 'hole in the ground' that existed while the city waited for Westfield to build the Broadway shopping centre (Image: T&A) “Your track record is no better. You did have a cross-party Executive and you were in leadership for 10 years. From 2000 to 2010 you ran the Council into the ground and collectively failed all communities at a time when the country was thriving and money was being thrown at Bradford.

“Can you single out any achievement from that time? How can we forget the hole in the ground in the city centre? It was only when Labour got in that it got back on track.”

He said two previous Conservative leaders, John Pennington and Margaret Eaton “cared about Bradford” and put love of the district before politics.

John Pennington put his love of the Bradford district above politics, the meeting heard (Image: T&A) Councillor Caroline Whittaker (Green, Craven) claimed the Conservative motion was “shameless electioneering for the 2026 elections” adding: “I find it odd that the party that brought us Boris Johnson and Lizz Truss are talking about competence and financial stability.”

Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe argued that the Executive always tried to include other parties in their decision making, pointing out examples of cross-party work. She argued that Cllr Poulsen had been given multiple updates on Bradford Live.

She added: “You’re trying to trash the Council just like you have trashed the country for the past 14 years. There is no crisis, but you’re trying to create a crisis.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe can now look forward to leading Bradford Council into the City of Culture year after her leadership team survived the vote of no confidence (Image: File) She also raised the “hole in the ground” and argued the Conservative-run Council had also left a “crumbling Odeon building.”

At the end of her speech Cllr Hinchcliffe received a standing ovation from Labour members.

Coun Hinchcliffe said the Odeon was in a 'crumbling' state after the Tories had been in power in Bradford Cllr Poulsen said: “You need to get out of your office and speak to the people of Bradford. Everything in the motion is what the people of the district are telling us.

“Labour never take responsibility – that is not what leadership is.”

When it came to the vote, both the Conservative and the Green/Lib Dem motion failed to get enough votes, with all Labour members voting against the no confidence motions. The Green/Lib Dem motion received 35 votes from the vast majority of opposition councillors, but 47 Labour councillors voted against it. There was one abstention.

The Conservative motion got 32 votes, with 48 councillors voting against it and three abstentions.