Tett to ‘refresh’ cabinet after coup bid fails

Tory council leader Martin Tett has hung on to power after a coup attempt, and is set to make a raft of changes to his cabinet.
Martin Tett: Leader of Buckinghamshire County CouncilMartin Tett: Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council
Martin Tett: Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council

The Bucks County Council chief was proposed to remain as leader by his party at a meeting on Tuesday.

Last week, the rumour mill was rife with speculation about Mr Tett’s position within the party.

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Peter Hardy, who is currently the portfolio holder for finance and resources on Mr Tett’s cabinet, was tipped as a frontrunner if Mr Tett was ousted.

However, Mr Hardy himself refused to comment, saying that it was a decision to be made in private.

But this newspaper understands that Mr Hardy did indeed stand against Mr Tett, but a secret ballot threw out the challenge.

The final leadership decision will be made at Bucks County Council’s full meeting next week and only then will Mr Tett announce his cabinet.

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Speaking after the meeting Mr Tett described himself as ‘pretty happy’.

He said: “There will be a refresh of the cabinet, there is always a refresh. But what happens in group stays in group and can’t comment any further.”

And speaking about his joy at the new Conservative majority government, he said: “We are delighted, we are all pleased that there is a majority Conservative government.

“Hopefully now they will make some real progress in the devolution of powers down to councils on a local level. At the moment we don’t know what our funding is going to be in advance, but if we knew how much we were going to get from the government long term we could look at things like match-funding, and look to find other funding.”

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