How will the Masham by-election defeat affect North Yorkshire Conservatives?

The Conservatives in North Yorkshire suffered a blow this week after losing the Masham and Fountains by-election.

Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, the Countess of Swinton, took the North Yorkshire County Council seat which had previously been held by long-serving Conservative Margaret Atkinson.

It’s the latest defeat for the local Tories, who failed to win a majority in Harrogate and Knaresborough in last May’s local election.

That meant the Lib Dems seized control of the county council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee but the Conservatives retained overall control across the county.

But this week’s loss has reduced the Tories’ majority to just two and raised the prospect of the party losing overall control of the county for the first time in over 20 years.

A further dent in the Tories’ majority

In just eight weeks time, the upcoming North Yorkshire Council will take over local government in the county. Councillors will transfer from North Yorkshire County Council and serve for four more years.

The swing in power has been dramatic since May last year.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, the Liberal Democrats now hold 11 seats compared to two just nine months ago following this week’s election in Masham.

How the make-up of North Yorkshire County Council looked prior to the by-election.

How the make-up of North Yorkshire County Council looked prior to the by-election.

The Masham result was particularly pertinent given that the Conservatives had won the seat in the May 2022 elections with 1,076 votes.

This week’s by-election was a two-horse race after the opposition Green Party pulled out of the contest in an effort to bolster the Lib Dems’ chances.

Overall, the Conservatives are the largest party with 46 seats on the council with opposition parties taking up 44.

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The dent in the majority means the party are just one by-election away from losing overall power.

The loss of overall control would have implications for major decisions. Should the council be required to pass a tough budget with far reaching cuts or hike in council tax, it could result in a tight vote.

The make-up of the council could also lead to close votes on politically difficult topics, such as fracking.

However, such a controversial topics may also see other councillors from different political parties vote against their own party line.

‘You can promise the earth in opposition’

While the defeat may leave the Conservatives in a tough position on paper, local councillors are upbeat about the situation.

Cllr Nick Brown, who sits as a Conservative in the Wathvale and Bishop Monkton division, told the Stray Ferret that the party respected the electorate’s decision and that Tory councillors would continue to work for constituents.

He said the Liberal Democrats would find it “difficult” to put words into action.

Cllr Brown said:

“The opposition spoke a lot and talked a lot. But putting things into action would be very difficult.

“When you are in opposition, you can promise the earth.”

He added that he hoped the result was a “blip” for the local party.

He said:

“We live in a democracy and people can put their names forward.

“The electorate has spoken, sadly not in our favour. I hope this is a little blip on the horizon.”

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have taken the result in their stride.

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency, said the result “put the Tories on notice”.

He said:

“A fantastic result and win in what once was true blue North Yorkshire.

“It’s clear that the public, and the Lib Dems, are well and truly putting the Conservatives on notice in what issupposed to be their heartlands.”

Meanwhile, Green party Cllr Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn division, said it was not straight forward in opposing the Conservatives despite their slim majority.

He said:

“It’s not clear cut. We have to get all the opposition on the same side and get one Conservative.

“We have also got to make sure that everyone is there.”

Cllr Warneken added that he was prepared to work with any party and was not bound by “political dogma”.

“As an opposition councillor, I will work with everybody.”

Stray Ferret Business Awards: Best Digital Marketing Campaign Finalists

The Stray Ferret Business Award for Best Digital Marketing Campaign is sponsored by Next Chapter.

Next Chapter not only leads brands to exponential growth and success, but brands itself as “the agency for disruptors and challengers”.

The Stray Ferret Digital Marketing Campaign Award recognises campaigns run solely on digital channels.

The Finalists:

Coach Gyms

Coach Gyms, located on Hornbeam Park, opened just a little over a year ago.

Coach Gyms dazzled the judges with its submission. To kick start the opening, they designed a promotion to attract gym members before they opened the doors.

Its digital pre-launch offer, that ran on Facebook and Instagram, earned the gym 1,500 sign ups before the gym even opened. The ad had a 35% conversion rate (lead to sign up) and surpassed all forecasts.

Stuart Perrin, chief executive and founder of Coach Gyms said:

“We’re over the moon to be finalists in the Digital Marketing Award!

“To say Coach Gyms Harrogate has only been open for one year, it’s great to see how far we have come as a team. Winning this award would mean the world to us”.

Ogden of Harrogate

Ogden of Harrogate’s submission for the award was a digital campaign that was designed to engage its loyal customers .

The campaign was an interactive, virtual advent calendar that enabled the jeweller to bring its annual Christmas catalogue online.

Each day, a personalised email was sent to subscribers, with an animated image featuring the corresponding door, opening onto a wonderful collection of jewellery.

Customers could register for the catalogue and join a prize draw to win £1000 to spend at Ogdens.

Robert Ogden, Director of Ogden of Harrogate, said:

“The main impetus behind the campaign was to engage with our longstanding clients in a digital way, but one that was reminiscent of the traditional Christmas Catalogue style that we have used for many years.

“The total number of pieces we were able to showcase through the 24 daily collections was around the same as for a printed catalogue, but the digital format allowed for deeper descriptions and the ability to connect with adjacent collections.  It is certainly something that we will consider doing again.”

Mumbler

Mumbler was founded by a Harrogate mum and has grown into an award-winning network of local parenting websites .

Mumbler partnered with Cry Babies interactive dolls that are designed to engage children’s emotions and empathy.

The dolls were sent to Mumbler parents who took videos and photos of their children playing with them.

The parents then wrote honest and knowledgeable reviews, that were collated into blogs.

Sally Haslewood, founder of Mumbler, said:

“The timing of the Cry Babies campaign was perfect; it gave us the opportunity to really help make life easier for our followers in the run up to Christmas.

“We knew that we’d done a great job on the campaign- the results spoke for themselves. Being recognised for this award is the cherry on top! It’s wonderful to be a finalist and I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity”.

The Stray Ferret Business Award event sponsor is Prosperis. To find more and to purchase tickets for the big night, click here.

‘Widespread’ support for North Yorkshire devolution plans questioned

North Yorkshire County Council has been urged to press on with its devolution plan amid claims it had received widespread public support, despite almost half of respondents to its consultation over the proposed governance change declining to support it.

The council’s Conservative-run executive will next Tuesday be asked to consider pressing ahead with plans to create a devolved government for the county and York, which it claims will bring “a host of benefits”, including new jobs, more affordable housing and measures to tackle climate change.

The council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: 

“To have so many people taking part in the public engagement is very welcome, as it shows the interest that is there on the proposed devolution deal.

“The responses will be carefully considered by the county council before a decision is taken to submit the results of the engagement to the government.”

Ahead of the meeting the authority issued a press release highlighting “widespread support” for its proposals, however a council report to the executive underlines some 46% cent of respondents to the consultation did not support the planned governance arrangements.

Leader of the opposition Independents group on the authority, Cllr Stuart Parsons, said: 

“I find it astounding that the council believes the support for its devolution proposals is widespread. 

“I would have thought if they had got 60 to 70% support they could claim that is widespread, but at the moment it sounds like it is thinly spread.”

An officer’s report to the executive recommends it endorses sending the consultation’s results to ministers to open the way for a combined authority, overseen by an elected mayor, which is scheduled to be established later this year.

Organisations ranging from the Tees Valley Combined Authority, the York to the Yorkshire Food, Farming and Rural Network said they recognised the proposed combined authority was a tried and tested way of building strong local leadership with new powers.

Of the 583 people who provided comments that supported the proposed governance arrangements, numerous people raised concerns over increased bureaucracy.

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However, others said the proposal would result in an increase in democratic accountability, decentralising decision-making in York and North Yorkshire, enabling councils to “work together as one instead of piecemeal” and magnify the area’s voice on the national stage.

Supporters of the proposed deal said York and North Yorkshire could not compete for government funding with big cities in isolation and the proposed mayoral combined authority would offer both a stronger voice and routes to new and enhanced funding.

Nevertheless, of the 501 people who opposed the proposals, many raised concerns about increased bureaucracy, while others said there were too many politicians in the area without having the expense of a mayor and associated staff.

Opponents of the proposed devolution deal said it would introduce an additional layer of local government almost immediately after combining district, borough and county councils into a singular North Yorkshire Council.

Opponents also said the proposed system would erode democratic accountability, increasing distances between residents and decision-makers, taking power away into the large centres of population.

There were concerns expressed over the proportionality of representation between York and North Yorkshire, with many arguing that it would be fairer for the number of decision-making representatives on the proposed combined authority to be based on the two area’s populations.

Stray Ferret Business Awards: A prize fit for the President

The Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023 will be an evening of celebration for the finalists and the winners – and everyone who attends also has the chance to win big.

We’re giving away a one-night stay in the Presidential Suite at Grantley Hall, plus dinner in either Fletchers or Eighty Eight.

A ticket to the awards evening means automatic entry into the prize draw and this fabulous night at Grantley.

So what level of luxury awaits the lucky winner? Take a look at the image below…

The Presidential Suite at Grantley Hall.

After a night in this suite, the winner will get a taste of what it feels like to be Joe Biden. Maybe they’ll even see him in the hallway.

Speaking of which, don’t worry about entering the hotel with the rest of the punters, because the Presidential Suite has its own private hallway, accessed from the rooftop atrium.

The four-piece bathroom, boasting a double vanity and a walk-in shower, is the perfect excuse to have that 45 minute shower you’ve been dreaming of, but the water bill said otherwise…

The Presidential Suite caters to your every need. All you will need to worry about is finding the right dinner suit and pyjama set… if all else fails, just borrow your parents’.

The winners of this prize will only have one thing to squabble about on the day: which restaurant to have dinner in?

That is an undeniably hard decision, but your tastebuds and tummies will be very satisfied regardless.

Fletchers Restaurant delivers sophisticated all-day dining. The menu is a combination of British and European cuisine, offering a range of dishes, including confit duck & foie royal terrine, fillet of beef Wellington and a whole grilled lobster – a nice change from spaghetti bolognese.

Beef Wellington is served at Fletchers.

There’s no need to fly to Japan when you can visit Eighty Eight. The restaurant brings a taste of Far Eastern flavours to Yorkshire produce and immerses guests into an ornamental Japanese garden within the restaurant.

Eighty Eight’s menu includes grilled diver scallops, robata grilled monkfish, five spiced duck breast and a toffee apple & miso tart.

Eighty Eight brings Eastern flavours to the West

Don’t pass up the opportunity to win this golden ticket prize. Who knows, the winner may even check out feeling powerful enough to run the country.

For more information on the awards and to purchase tickets, click here.

Terms and conditions:

Valid for two guests sharing. Subject to availability. Valid Sunday – Thursday and excludes bank holidays. Cannot be redeemed against Christmas and New Year packages. The voucher includes £100 towards the final food bill in the chosen restaurant, pre-booking must be made to redeem voucher. Once initially redeemed any outstanding amounts cannot be transferred to a future visit.

Liberal Democrats win Masham and Fountains by-election

The Conservative majority on North Yorkshire County Council has been reduced to two after Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister – the Countess of Swinton – swept to victory in yesterday’s by-election for the Masham and Fountains division.

With this result, the make-up of North Yorkshire County Council – and the new North Yorkshire unitary authority that comes into being on April 1 – will see the Conservatives with 46 seats to the 44 belonging to opposition parties

The countess polled 1,349 votes in a two-horse race against Conservative candidate Brooke Hull, who received 801.

The seat became vacant after the sudden death in November of Conservative councillor Margaret Atkinson, who was appointed as the last chair of North Yorkshire County Council following the local elections in May.

At that May 2022 election, Felicity Cuncliffe-Lister stood as an Independent and polled 738 votes to finish second to Mrs Atkinson, who received 1,076 votes. The Liberal Democrat candidate Judith Hooper received 620 votes.

The Masham and Fountains division covers a large rural area that includes Kirkby Malzeard, Galphay, Grewelthorpe, Grantley, Sawley, Markington and Ripley, as well as Masham.

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North Yorkshire electoral change campaigners accused of wasting council’s time

Electoral change campaigners have been accused of wasting North Yorkshire County Council’s time after calling for ruling Conservative councillors to press colleagues in Westminster to introduce proportional representation.

A meeting of the council’s executive saw residents and councillors give impassioned responses to a proposal by the Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate and Kingsley, Chris Aldred, for it to endorse proportional representation at all elections.

The meeting heard at the 2019 general election, across the eight constituencies in North Yorkshire and York, the Conservatives received 54% of the votes cast, but ended up with seven out of the eight seats.

Campaigners told the meeting how analysis of the county council’s elections since 2005 had revealed that on average UKIP needed 15,500 votes per councillor, the Green Party 6,900, Labour 4,500, Liberal Democrats 3,500 and the Conservatives just 1,900.

The meeting heard claims that many residents believed their votes did not count, resulting in only 35% of those registered to vote taking part in last May’s council elections.

Campaigners called for North Yorkshire to lead the way for “a fairer future” and highlighted the region’s role in historic moments such as the women’s suffrage movement and action to abolish slavery.

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The meeting was told the council’s Conservative administration had been formed despite the party’s candidates only receiving 41.3% of the votes, meaning nearly three in five of those who voted were not represented on the authority’s all-Tory decision-making executive.

After listening to numerous campaigners for 26 minutes, and opposition councillors state the reasoning behind the motions for a further 10 minutes, the authority’s deputy leader, Cllr Gareth Dadd, said the public would be “horrified” to learn the cost of officers’ and councillors’ time in considering the proposals.

He said: 

“This is, let’s be clear about it, political posturing, by opposition members, grandstanding for no purpose in terms of outcome for this authority.

“We should be getting on with things that we have some control over.

“This should not be used again as a platform for self-indulgent and party political promotion.”

Cllr David Chance, executive member for corporate services, said there were pros and cons to any electoral system and while proportional representation could lead to more voices being heard, the electoral system could see more unstable coalition governments.

He added: 

“The first-past-the-post system of voting has the advantage of providing a clear winner in every seat contested. 

“It builds a strong relationship with the locally elected officials and is a well known system of voting that is easy to understand.”

Ahead of the executive agreeing that it would not support the proposal, which will be considered by the full council in May, Cllr Chance said electoral reform was an issue that Westminster politicians would decide, but that it was not on the government’s agenda.

Campaigners renew efforts to raise £250,000 to buy Skelton-on-Ure pub

Residents in Skelton-on-Ure are renewing efforts to raise £250,000 to buy their village pub.

The Black Lion, on Skelton Lane close to Newby Hall, between Boroughbridge and Ripon, was bought in December 2019 by Admiral Taverns.

However since then it has stood derelict, leaving locals questioning its future.

After the pub was put up for sale, residents called on people to pledge to buy a share in the pub in order to raise funds to buy it and revitalise it.

The pub was recently listed as an asset of community value by Harrogate Borough Council, which gives the group a six-month window to raise cash.

Now, residents have renewed efforts as they warn the “clock is ticking” on the chance to save the pub.

Sandy Delf, one of the residents involved in the Black Lion Community Hub and Pub group, said:

“So far the value of shares and promises in kind to help is in the region of £140,000. With government matched funding this would at present double monies to around £275,000.

“But the project still needs more funds. The community group are appealing for more pledges.”

The Black Lion pictured prior to its closure.

The group, which has received support from rural community charity the Plunkett Foundation, aims to raise £250,000 in order to access government match funding as part of the community ownership fund.

Shares in the pub cost £250 each and are open to people and businesses to submit an expression of interest.

For more information on how to pledge a share in the pub, visit the Black Lion Community Hub and Pub website here.

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North Yorkshire County Council rejects calls to brand fracking as ‘inappropriate’

The leadership of North Yorkshire County Council has rejected calls to label fracking as “inappropriate”.

The council’s Conservative-led executive said it would not support Liberal Democrat and Green motions to declare hydraulic fracturing as inappropriate in the county, despite the council having declared a climate emergency and pushing forward plans to reduce carbon.

While the authority’s leaders have pointed towards Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reimposing the government’s ban on fracking which was last year lifted by Liz Truss, opposition councillors have claimed the moratorium could be ended again.

The recommendation to a full meeting of the authority later this month comes three years after Third Energy announced it would not use planning consent for the hydraulic fracturing of rock to extract gas in Ryedale which the council’s planning committee granted it, triggering a huge and sustained outcry.

The planning decision in 2016 lead to hundreds of thousands of pounds of North Yorkshire taxpayers money being spent on policing protests outside the Kirby Misperton site.

A meeting of the executive heard opposition members implore the authority to show leadership over climate change policies and agree that fracking, which was “the most polluting fossil fuel extraction” was incompatible with its ambition to be part of the country’s first carbon negative region.

Green councillor Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn, said the motions simply looked to reinforce the council’s policies over fracking.

He said: 

“In this case we are not discussing the rights and wrongs of what we allow in our county, we are talking about saving our very existence.

“If we are going to ask all those third parties who are the major contributors to carbon emissions in this county to take us seriously, we can send strong messages out to tell them that we believe fracking is inappropriate.”

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However, the authority’s top legal officer, Barry Khan, advised the executive that approving the motion could leave councillors open to accusations of pre-determining potential hydraulic fracturing planning applications, which in turn could undermine the council’s ability to decide on schemes.

He said the Localism Act stated councillors could not be accused of pre-determining a proposal solely on the basis of something they had previously stated and while some other councils may have taken “a more liberal view” of the legislation he believed a cautionary approach was right.

Mr Khan said approving the motion would create “an element of risk” that was unnecessary given that the council had already set out its positions in its Minerals and Waste Plan.

Cllr Simon Myers, whose executive portfolio includes planning, said those pushing the motions risked having decisions taken out of the hands of locally elected councillors and given to government inspectors instead.

The authority’s opposition leader Cllr Bryn Griffiths highlighted how neighbouring East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which also has significant amounts of its jurisdiction under oil and gas exploration licences, had recently passed a similar policy opposing fracking.

The Liberal Democrat said councils had set out their belief that fracking was environmentally-damaging without raising issues over pre-determination.

Green councillor Andy Brown added it was quite reasonable for a councillor to take a political position on fracking as well as sit on a planning committee and consider evidence about whether the proposal would be environmentally damaging.

Bid to introduce single taxi zone for North Yorkshire put on hold

A bid to merge seven taxi zones in North Yorkshire into one has been postponed after taxi drivers and disabled people claimed the move would be a retrograde step.

Opponents of North Yorkshire County Council’s proposed taxi policy told a meeting of the authority’s executive it would lead to taxis clogging up town centres and sparse cover in rural areas, particularly for wheelchair users.

Yesterday’s meeting heard that a working group of elected members with significant experience of licensing had made a series of recommendations which the council’s officers had “tossed aside like a pair of old slippers” and come up with a series of different proposals.

A consultation over the taxi policy showed most people were against it and, opponents claimed, the council’s leadership appeared to be reneging on a pledge to abide by its results.

Nick Moxon, chairman of North Yorkshire Disability Forum, said:

“The suggestion that one zone rather than seven will enable wheelchair users to find taxis on ranks in future lacks any credible evidence.”

The meeting heard concerns that a dearth of wheelchair-accessible taxis in many areas of the county meant that if taxis drivers were permitted to sit on ranks miles away, wheelchair users could be left with no means of transport.

Councillors were told there were no or scant wheelchair-accessible taxi services from numerous North Yorkshire stations and buses were not an acceptable alternative as wheelchair users could not safely use many rural bus stops.

The meeting heard it was council policy to improve transport access for disabled people but there was nothing in the new taxi policy that would increase the number of wheelchair-accessible taxis.

Harrogate cabbie speaks out

One Harrogate-based taxi driver told the meeting his colleagues had said if the policy was introduced they would immediately give up their wheelchair-accessible vehicles as they would not be viable.

He said:

“The vast majority, if not all, of the hackney carriage trade is totally against the proposals to create a one zone authority for the purpose of taxi trading as this will lead to certain livelier areas becoming swamped at peak times, leaving quieter rural areas with no supply at all, leaving residents in those areas vulnerable to getting home safely.”

Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of business and environmental services, said the authority was aware of the need for more wheelchair-accessible taxis and that officers intended to review its policies in 18 months.

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The meeting heard the proposed policy incorporates the Department for Transport’s taxi and private hire vehicle best practice guidance and statutory standards, to ensure that the public continued to be provided with safe and accessible vehicles.

Councillors heard it would also provide a coherent regulatory framework for the trade across the county and that hackney carriage and private hire licence holders and taxi operators across the county would be treated equally.

The authority’s executive member for open to business, Councillor Derek Bastiman, said the working group’s findings had not been tossed aside.

However, the executive agreed to postpone considering the proposed policy until later this month in order to examine the working group’s recommendation to allow vehicles of up to 15 years in age to be licensed to help during the cost of living crisis.

North Yorkshire Police announces force review amid £14 council tax hike

North Yorkshire Police has announced it is to consider a major overhaul of how it operates to boost visible frontline policing amid a £14 hike in its share of council tax.

Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe and force chief constable Lisa Winward made the announcement as they revealed they would ask residents to pay 4.99% extra council tax for the service, despite leaving more than 120 posts vacant.

A meeting of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel yesterday was told the review could lead to an increase in uniformed officers attending incidents such as burglaries.

Zoe Metcalfe

Zoe Metcalfe

Ms Metcalfe told the panel of North Yorkshire and York councillors and experts that inflation was set to present an ongoing challenge to the force’s finances, so an operational and organisational review of the force would be undertaken for the first time in eight years.

She said the review would aim to deliver the best possible frontline and visible policing services, while a pause on the recruitment of police community support officers would create an opportunity to “redesign neighbourhood policing”.

However, the commissioner added she would be expecting the chief constable to “grip the force’s finances tightly”.

Two members of the panel highlighted that the force would be asking the average band D householder to pay £14.03 extra “when they will actually be getting less in terms of 50 less PCSOs and 74 less staff”.

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The band D £295.08 demand will mean an average rise of more than £90 in the amount residents are obliged to pay North Yorkshire Police to cover the cost of the police service not paid for by central government over the last decade.

Lisa Winward

Chief constable Lisa Winward

Chief constable Lisa Winward said there had been a huge change in the nature of demand since the force’s last overhaul in 2015, including “a massive increase in technology and the seizure of technology, an increase in child abuse and rising online crime”.

She said:

“The sort of work that our officers are now doing predominantly has changed since 2015. We have tried within the existing budget to investigate and deliver a high-quality policing service.

“We really need to go back to the core of policing, investigation, arresting by people and being physically present in our communities.”

The meeting heard despite focused recruitment campaigns the force had been unable to recruit PCSOs as people were either joining the service as officers or were seeing “more favourable jobs” elsewhere, so the police budget needed to be spent elsewhere.

The meeting was told the precept increase would also be used for “urgent” service improvements, such as £1.9m extra to improve 999 emergency call handling times, 101 call handling time, and expand means of the public contacting police.

The report states: 

“Demand profiling has identified that in comparison to other forces, North Yorkshire Police have a significantly smaller workforce in the control room than other comparable forces.”

Costs facing the force are expected to increase by £18m, mainly due to pay rises and inflation.

With a £1.5m injection it is proposed to boost frontline uniformed response teams, which will see the number of officers rise to 1,645.

After the meeting, the panel’s chairman, Cllr Carl Les, said he did not believe it was a case of people paying more for less, but rather that residents would be paying more because of inflation, for a service that would be different in future.

He said:

“I think at the moment it is the only thing the commissioner can do. We really are between a rock and a hard place this year in budget-setting terms.

“We know that there is a cost of living crisis and how hard it is going to be for some people to pay any increase whatever that might be, but equally all the services are facing the same sorts of pressures we are.”