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05
May
‘Judge me by my record’, says Tory leader as challenge looms
The Conservative leader of North Yorkshire Council has urged party colleagues to judge him on his record when they vote on whether to back him tomorrow (May 6).
The Stray Ferret broke the news last week that Councillor Carl Les faces a leadership challenge from Cllr Keane Duncan.
The unitary authority’s 42 Tory councillors will vote in a secret ballot tomorrow (May 6) on who will take them into next year’s council elections.
Cllr Les, 76, has been a councillor since 1995 — the year Cllr Duncan, 31, was born. He became leader of North Yorkshire County Council in 2015 and assumed the same role when North Yorkshire Council succeeded it in 2023.
The two men fell out last year and Cllr Duncan resigned from Cllr Les’ executive in June last year. In 2024 Cllr Duncan stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative mayoral candidate for York and North Yorkshire.
Asked to comment on the challenge, Cllr Les said:
It will be up to the group to decide who will be the group leader. I will stand on my record of achievements and continuous election successes since 1995. I will trust their good judgement.
The ballot will take place at Couty Hall in Northallerton.
On Friday, Cllr Duncan said he would “look forward to making my positive case at the AGM”.
Asked by the Stray Ferret what his pitch to councillors would be, Cllr Duncan declined to comment further.
The 42 Conservative councillors who will decide include Nick Brown (Wathdale and Bishop Monkton), Cllr Sam Gibbs (Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate), Cllr Michael Harrison (Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate), Cllr Andy Paraskos (Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale and Tockwith) and Cllr Robert Windass (Boroughbridge and Claro) from the former Harrogate district.
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