Staffordshire County Council's new Reform leader says party will 'mark last administration's homework'
Staffordshire County Council's new Reform leader said the support he has received so far has been "fantastic" ahead of his official declaration as leader.
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Reform UK's Councillor Ian Cooper was officially declared leader of Staffordshire County Council at today's (May 22) full meeting.
Reform UK took 49 of 62 county council seats in the elections on May 1.
Speaking to the Express & Star prior to the full meeting of the council, Councillor Cooper said: "The public reception has been fantastic. There's a lot of goodwill, there is a lot of support and empathy from a lot of people.
"The council officers have been great, they are incredibly welcoming and nice and are open to doing new business, so it will be fun - let's see where this goes."
While future plans include a focus on "saving taxpayers' money", the new leader of the council said that his team will now scrutinise the previous administration's "homework".
He said: "What we are going to do is review and mark the previous administration's homework first."
Previously, Councillor Cooper said that he would not "drop in on day one and immediately change things", but "over a period of time, there be an incremental revolution".
Speaking on Tuesday (May 20), he said: "We’ve found many, many examples across the UK where councils have been profligate and spending on items which we believe as taxpayers that they shouldn’t be spending on.
"We’re not going to drop in on day one and immediately change things.
"But over the period of time, there will be an incremental revolution that will occur by looking at how councils like Staffordshire are run. We intend to use the full tools available to us to investigate that problem."
Councillor Cooper was officially declared the leader of Staffordshire County Council at today's full meeting of the council held at 10am.
