Nominating Jim Martin for Leader of Folkestone and Hythe District council

I'm nominating Jim Martin to be leader of this Council.

Although the Council elected in May 2023 has no group with an overall majority, the will of local residents was clear. They want an effective non-Conservative Council leadership. We will provide it.

We will do so working together as the administration of the District Council. Jim leads to the largest group on this Council. It's clear to me that he should be elected leader tonight.

And we should support Jim becuase I'm confident he'll bring groups to working together in a spirit of trust, equity, openness and fairness.

He will lead an administration that is committed to Save Princes Parade. I couldn't support someone who was not. There are few people better qualified to do so.

We share a passion to make this Council more responsive to local residents, and talk with people, not at them. A Council that is inclusive and open to all Councillors and uses our joint manadate to move to a Committee system by May 2024.

Jim's background and experience will help us deliver on previous pledges of new Council homes. We're committed to doing it. We must do it.

He will be passionate about making this council Carbon Neutral, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because to be energy inefficient is expensive and wasteful.

And Jim will have a laser focus on fixing this Council’s budget so it doesn’t keep spending its fast dwindling savings. There is a huge challenge here that the previous adminstration has left us to fix. We need to fix it, fast.

We’re ambitious for Folkestone and Hythe.

Working together, we’ll deliver for it.

And led by Jim, we'll be clear this Council is open for business, determined, and focused.