The Conservative administration at Cornwall Council has lost its majority after a Tory councillor defected to the Independent group today (Tuesday, January 21). The Conservative group now has 43 councillors while opposition groups feature 44 members.
Councillor Mike McLening, who has represented St Stephen-in-Brannel for the past eight years, told CornwallLive: "It was time for a divorce." He stressed he had nothing against the Tory administration but felt he would be best representing his constituents as an Independent.
He said: "I've been a Conservative all my life. I haven't been happy with what's going on at Westminster. No [financial] help has come down here. I sort of work on my own and am concerned about Reform in my area, so I want to tackle that myself by winning my seat again.
"A lot of people have contacted me who are Conservatives who have said they would vote for me if I became Independent. Those voters aren't interested in Reform but they would be happy to vote for me if I was an Independent councillor. I just want to give my constituents what I've always given them - I'm always available 24/7."
He added: "It was time for a divorce but I've got no animosity towards [council leader] Linda Taylor. This is about the people in my area and whether Reform make a big noise, not about the administration at Cornwall Council."
To sign up to the weekly Cornwall Politics newsletter click here.
How does he feel about the Tories losing their majority due to his defection?
"I discussed it with Linda. The important vote is the budget at the next full council and I'm not sure I would have supported it."
Cllr McLening's defection means the Conservative and Independent Conservative Aligned group now has 43 members, Independents 16, Liberal Democrats 13, Mebyon Kernow five, Labour five, Green one, Non-Aligned three and Unaffiliated one.
The Tories lost their majority briefly last year when Cllr John Conway (Launceston) and Cllr Adrian Harvey (St Newlyn East, Cubert and Goonhavern) resigned to join the breakaway Non-Aligned group with Cllr Steve Arthur (Perranporth). The Conservative group was saved though when Independent councillor Paul Wills joined them, forcing the name change to Conservative and Independent Conservative Aligned.
The loss of the party's majority could see the re-arrangement of committees with the Conservatives losing their majority on them. Whether that will actually happen with just a few weeks before the council elections on May 1 remains to be seen.
Join CornwallLive's WhatsApp community for top stories and breaking news sent directly to your phone
CornwallLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join us. Once you sign up for our updates, we'll send the latest breaking news and biggest stories of the day straight to your phone.
To join our community, you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select 'Join Community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the CornwallLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'Exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
