Newark East’s County Councillor Sam Smith is proud to have been re-elected as the Conservatives Leader at Nottinghamshire County Council and to have also been elected as the new Leader of the Opposition at Nottinghamshire County Council today.
Alongside Deputy Leader Cllr Bruce Laughton and Chief Whip Cllr Jonathan Wheeler.
Nottinghamshire’s Conservative team, the largest Conservative opposition Group in the country (of those councils up for election last week), will be focused on delivering on local priorities.
Commenting, Cllr Smith said: “Over the bank holiday weekend, I’ve taken time to catch up on some much needed sleep and to reflect on last week’s election. It has been a tough election for my Conservative Party and I’m so very sorry to see many of my amazing colleagues across Nottinghamshire not get re-elected to the County Council. This is through no fault of their own, as they have been outstanding servants of their communities, but it is a result of national policies (immigration) playing a huge part in the outcome of a local election. Their hard work and dedication to their residents will be missed.
“We Nottinghamshire Conservatives entered the election with a proud track record of delivering on local priorities and getting things done. As the Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, I was extreamly proud to be going around the county reminding residents that as a Conservative-run Council we had; never closed a library; increased the highway repair budget to £70+m; protected local bus routes with £9m of investment; retained our youth services; deliver good care; improved SEND; invested an extra £60+m year on year into better local services; built new schools and expanded others; and delivered all that while never increasing Council Tax by the maximum, which saved residents £22m.
“It is because of this proud track record of getting things done and delivering on the local priorities of residents that myself and a total of 17 Conservative County Councillors were re-elected / elected onto Nottinghamshire County Council last week. Making us the biggest Conservative opposition Group in the country (of those councils that had elections) and I am the only Conservative Leader in the Midlands to retain their seat. On what has been a disappointing outcome to the election, these two points offer a little joy and optimism.
“We hand over a good Council to the incoming Reform administration and, whilst continuing to deliver on local matters, it is now the role of the opposition Group, that I now I lead at County Hall, to showcase to the electorate that national issues, such as immigration, can not be addressed at the County Council.
“On a personal note, I’m delighted to have been re-elected as the Conservative County Councillor for Newark East. It’s an honour to represent Beacon Hill, Balderton and Newark Town and I will continue to do all I can to deliver on our local priorities. Thank you to everyone who voted to re-elect me, it’s much appreciated.
“I’ve been back working at County Hall today, continuing my work for the residents of Newark East and begin the work of leading the Opposition. Thank you to everyone who supported my Group during the election, we’re extremely grateful.”
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