Council chair survives no confidence vote

The chair of a local authority has narrowly survived a no confidence vote.

Labour councillor Julia Rostron faced the call at a Middlesbrough Council meeting on Wednesday.

The motion had been proposed by Conservative councillor Luke Mason who said he was unhappy with the manner in which recent local authority meetings had been held.

Rostron chose not to speak during the debate ahead of the vote.

Mason raised concerns about the lack of the supplementary questions afforded to members during meetings, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He said the motion was not "political" and instead and was about "how we go about council business here in the chamber".

Liberal Democrat Councillor Tom Livingstone said he had a "lot of time" for Rostron, but said his residents were "embarrassed" at the goings on at some council meetings and therefore he would vote for the motion, adding "something needs to change here".

Labour councillor Luke Henman described the motion as "disappointing" and "entirely in bad faith".

All non-Labour councillors voted for the motion, whereas all Labour councillors and elected mayor Chris Cooke voted against.

The motion was defeated as Labour has a slim majority in Middlesbrough Council's chamber.

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