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23
Jun
North Yorkshire Conservatives cancel leadership contest after rivals reach agreement
A contest to lead North Yorkshire Council into next year’s local elections has been cancelled after agreement was reached between two senior Conservative councillors.
The current leader of the authority, Carl Les, has announced he will stand down as leader of the controlling Conservative and Independents group after the ballot in May 2027.
Cllr Les has been embroiled in a contest to lead the Tory-led group with high-profile Conservative colleague, Councillor Keane Duncan.
The group’s annual general meeting was abandoned last month after Conservative councillors failed to reach an agreement on whether independent councillors, who are aligned with the Tory group, could take part in the vote.
But the two councillors now say that a way forward has been agreed.
This will see Cllr Les continue as leader of the group through to the elections.
Cllr Carl Les (left) and Cllr Keane Duncan
Although the Conservative and Independents no longer have a majority on the authority, they remain the largest group and the agreement is likely to mean Cllr Les continues to lead the authority until the ballot.
After the elections, he will then stand down to allow the group to hold an open leadership contest.
Meanwhile, Cllr Duncan will lead the group’s election preparations.
Cllr Les said:
Keane and I are united and moving forward together with a clear focus on winning for the Conservatives in 2027.
Our shared priority is delivering for North Yorkshire residents and preparing effectively for the election challenge ahead.
Keane has a strong track record of campaigning across all corners of North Yorkshire, and I’m pleased he will be leading our election preparations.
Cllr Duncan, who lost out in the May 2024 York and North Yorkshire mayoral election to Labour candidate David Skaith, will be responsible for establishing and chairing a new Campaign 2027 board.
The board will bring together Conservative candidates and party representatives to direct campaigning, fundraising and communications in the run-up to the elections.
Cllr Duncan said:
With less than a year until the elections, I believe the right decision now is to focus our energy into winning seats, rather than into prolonging a leadership contest.
Carl and I are both aiming for the strongest possible Conservative result in 2027, and we’re committed to working together to achieve it.
We have agreed an effective plan for campaigning and a clear timetable for a leadership contest afterwards.
I’m looking forward to starting work immediately and supporting our candidates to win across North Yorkshire.
Cllr Les became leader of North Yorkshire County Council in 2015 and led the new unitary authority after its launch in 2023.
He received an OBE for his service to local government in the 2024 New Year Honours List.
It is understood the Conservative group will still meet next week to decide the deputy leader following the resignation of Councillor Gareth Dadd.
The three candidates are Councillor Mark Crane, Councillor Richard Foster and Councillor George Jabbour.
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