Oakham: Together4Rutland set up by ex-Conservative Rutland County Councillors

By Evie Payne 25th Apr 2022

Following frustrations at the direction of the Rutland County Council Conservative Group, Councillors Nick Begy, Gordon Brown, and June Fox all resigned from the party on the 22nd of April 2022 to set up their new endeavour, Together4Rutland.

They will continue their work on the Rutland County Council, but no longer under Tory leadership.

"On 22nd April 2022, Cllrs Gordon Brown, June Fox and Nick Begy resigned from the Rutland County Council Conservative Group. They will continue as County Councillors and will form the new Together4Rutland Group on Rutland County Council to focus on supporting the residents in their Wards and across Rutland.

"In recent months, the three councillors have become increasingly concerned with the direction of travel of the Conservative group, and as backbenchers have felt marginalised, finding it harder to provide the support for the residents for whom they took up public service to help.

"In addition, they cannot continue to support the national Conservative party on moral grounds, with Ministers and senior MPs having lost the respect of the public and failing to recognise the serious financial position of Rutland County Council caused by a lack of government funding compounded by additional burdens from new legislation.

"The new Group feel that now is no time for party politics in local government in Rutland and wants the opportunity to openly question policy which impacts all residents and not just follow the Conservative party line. The three councillors look forward to working together with all members of the Council to avoid unnecessary political arguments and remembering why they hold these privileged positions. They are hoping that the other members of the County Council will agree with this position and look to join with the new Togther4Rutland group to achieve the best outcomes for the whole of Rutland.

"The new Group has also been joined by Cllr Paul Ainsley, who left the Conservative Group shortly after the HIF vote at the end of last year."

The group have also set up a Facebook page for this new endeavour, which can be found here.

Their resignation from Rutland County Council Conservative Group means that Rutland no longer has a Conservative majority, making the upcoming by-election to fill the Uppingham Ward vacancy even more exciting.

There are four candidates running in the election, which is due to take place on the 5th of May 2022, with only one standing for the Conservative party.

The candidates are:

Stephen Lambert