Wednesday 8th March, 2023
Cllr Chris Pearson has been confirmed as the new head of Colchester Labour Group after winning the election following the departure of former leader Adam Fox.
Cllr Pearson, who has chaired the Labour Group for the past four years and is the Councillor for Berechurch, aims to increase social housing, boost the local economy, tackle climate change, and assist residents with the cost-of-living crisis.
Phew. Good luck with that lot, Comrade.
He has previously run as a Labour parliamentary candidate and European Parliament candidate for seats that included Colchester.
Pearson is keen to build on the achievements of Fox and lead the Group to more success in the upcoming May elections.
He told the local newspaper:
“I was disappointed when Adam announced he was standing down from his council position as he has been an excellent asset.
I will do my very best to build on Adam’s achievements and work to increase the number of Labour councillors in the May elections.
I believe the Colchester Labour Group has the best policies to take the city into this new era.”
Cllr Pearson is known as something as the Quiet Man of Sunny Colch politics. He has experience on the back benches, but rarely raises the volume or rhetoric in his speeches.
This may – or may not – be a good thing.
He has pretty much the exact same political Centrist approach as LibDem Council Leader Cllr Dave King. Expect no public disagreements as the Third Way approach continues with the coalition.
His Civil Service background mirrors that of Cllr King. The two should get on like a house on fire – which is a good job, seeing as though the Town Hall is set to go through something of a fire sale when it comes to staffing costs.
There will be a a tussle for power ahead of the next set of local elections in May. But they won’t kick the shit out of each other, as was the case with previous *ahem* leaders.
It’s good to see that the Labour Group has wasted no time in coming up with a name. The local elections are now less than two months away. Voters need assurances, and a nice smiley pic they can frame their decision around.
Truth to be told and there wasn’t a lot of talent to choose from within the pool.
Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Julie Young, may have fancied her chances. But she still might get to lead the Council if Labour emerge as the senior partner in any coalition come mid-May.
The Council is currently made up of 15 LibDems, 15 Labour, 19 Tories and 2 Greens. The LibDems did marginally hold the balance of power until the defection of Cllr Steph Nissen from the Greens to Labour late last year.
The view at the time was to carry on with business as normal, rather than disrupt the coalition and give the Tories an opportunity to make the most of any divisions.
This might all change in a couple of months…
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