At a special full council meeting held on Tuesday 5th August, Rutland County Council Leader Gale Waller survived the challenge to her position from seven Conservative members of the council who put forward a motion of no confidence.

The meeting saw debate from Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, as well as Independent and Labour councillors, discussing the current running of the council, recent successes and failures, key decisions made as part of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and the future of Rutland as a county.

During the meeting, the Conservative group were criticised for using the situation to play 'party politics' instead of prioritising what is best for the county. However, the group argued that their vote of no confidence was about fighting for the future of the county with LGR, saying residents should not be shoe-horned into only one option when there are multiple possibilities on the table.

Throughout the meeting, several councillors commended Councillor Waller on her leadership in the council, drawing on the current balanced-budget and transport policy as successes from the current Lib Dem Leadership.

Cllr Lucy Stevenson (Con), who put forward the motion, recognised the meeting as beneficial for all those in attendance as a real and open discussion of Rutland's future and LGR, saying the discussion had been productive and an important conversation to be held in public.

When it came down to the vote, of the 24 councillors present at the meeting, 8 voted in favour of removing Cllr Waller from her position, with 14 councillors voting against the motion and 2 abstaining.

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READ MORE: Rutland MP backs Conservative challenge to county council, claiming current leader is 'railroading' residents

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