Talks continue to form council as Banbury Labour group reject Lib Dems coalition offer

This week (Monday, May 20), the Labour group issued a statement announcing that they have rejected the Liberal Democrats' offer to work together to run the district council.

It comes following the results of the May 2 local elections, which saw the Lib Dems increase their seats within the council from ten to 17, becoming the biggest party represented.

Labour became the second-biggest party in Cherwell with 13 seats, and the Conservatives kept hold of 11 seats after losing eight seats.

With no party gaining the 25 seats required to form a majority council, discussions are taking place over how the council will run.

However, Labour have ruled themselves out of working alongside the Lib Dem group over differences over building houses in the district and future investment in Banbury town centre.

They said: “The Liberal Democrat leadership floated the possibility of a deal between them and Labour only, without the involvement of other parties or independent councillors.

“However, during those discussions, we made it clear that we could not support their agenda on important issues like the local plan. They also do not share Labour's priorities of getting more homes built to tackle local need and for continued investment in Banbury town centre.

“These are things that we as a Labour Party campaigned on and made priorities in the recent local elections and which they have been decidedly ambivalent on. As such, we do not feel a formal deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats on Cherwell District Council is possible."

In response to this statement, the leader of the Cherwell Liberal Democrats group, David Hingley, said that his party will continue to hold discussions with other parties to find a solution.

He said: “As the largest party, we believe that gives us the mandate to form an administration, but with no one party having a majority we want to find ways to work together for the benefit of residents.

"Looking forwards, we remain open to discussions and are determined to work hard to help Banbury thrive, as well as the whole of Cherwell district.”

A new leader of the council will be appointed at tonight’s Wednesday (May 22) annual meeting; they will then build a cabinet to run the council.