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26
Jul
Will he carry on? North Yorkshire Council leader Carl Les reveals 2027 plans
Carl Les, the Conservative leader of North Yorkshire Council, has revealed he plans to stand for election again in 2027.
Cllr Les, who will be 78 by the time of the next election, has led North Yorkshire Council and its predecessor North Yorkshire County Council since 2015.
The Stray Ferret asked Cllr Les about his intentions after his age and the diversity of his cabinet fell under the spotlight in recent weeks.
Cllr Keane Duncan, 30, who is widely considered to be preparing a leadership challenge, said when he resigned from Cllr Les’ cabinet in June: “As we approach the election, the next generation will be key to our party’s renewal… to win in 2027, we must be a dynamic and forward-looking party that inspires the trust of the electorate.”
Independent Cllr Rich Maw, who represents Weaponness and Ramshill, last week questioned whether Cllr Les’ 10-person cabinet reflected the “diversity and lived experience” of North Yorkshire as it didn’t appear to include anyone aged under 50 and was 70% male.
But Cllr Les said he intended to carry on — and batted aside questions about his age:
I have been privileged to serve the people who live around Catterick, with a few boundary changes, since 1997 when I was first elected, and re-elected ever since. I intend to continue to serve them. Equally I have served as leader of two councils for over 10 years and have been elected as leader of North Yorkshire Council until the next election in 2027, and I will continue to serve as there is still work to be done.
That said, party rules require that I stand for leader of the Conservative group on an annual basis. It is open to anybody to stand, but I think they will have to do so with a better proposition than just age. A record of achievements in office, sound policies, teamwork, leadership and election successes will also be judged by colleagues.
'It would be easy to be offended'
Regarding his age, Cllr Les said:
It would be easy to be offended by such questions, and indeed age discrimination is an offence in law. Age is not a determinant for fitness for office, although mental ability and good health might be. I am at the same age now as my father was when he died, and he was in the office of the successful business he started and built on the morning he died. Although he and I disagreed on some of the decisions he made, no-one could say he was too old to make them. And people who disagree, often strongly, with President Trump are not saying he is too old to be President of the United States.
Cllr Les, the son of a Polish immigrant whose family owned Leeming Bar Services on the A1, has been a councillor for 30 years, having been elected to Hambleton District Council in 1995 and North Yorkshire County Council in 1997.
He was last elected in 2022 when he won the Catterick Village and Brompton-on-Swale division seat with 56% of the vote.
Cllr Les was one of the main supporters of the model of local government reorganisation adopted in North Yorkshire in 2022 and there was little surprise when he emerged as leader.
The next council elections are due in May 2027.
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