Derrick Haley is re-elected as leader of Mid Suffolk District Council

Councillor Derrick Haley has been re-elected as Mid Suffolk District Council’s leader at its first full council meeting since the election.

Following his re-election yesterday evening, Councillor Haley said it was a privilege to be asked to lead the council again.

He said: “Thank you very much for all the councillors for voting for me. It is a real privilege to be leader.

“We have a great bunch of new councillors on all sides of the political spectrum.

“I hope we can all work together over the next few years because that’s what it is all about - what we can do for the whole community”

Cllr Haley said the next four years promised to be exciting time for the council.

“Firstly, I would like to thank all councillors from all parties who served their communities so diligently over the life of the previous Council.

“Those were four years of great changes, not least the successful integration of our workforce with those of Babergh District Council and the fundamental transformation of how these combined staff work to serve both of our councils.

“The next four years promise to be equally exciting and I fundamentally believe that we must grasp the opportunities afforded to us both by what we’ve already achieved and the relationships we have built up across the public sector in Suffolk to deliver great outcomes for our communities.

“In particular, we must unashamedly go for sustainable economic growth – that is growth in the right place and at the right time in our district as that will provide us with the businesses, jobs and homes that will lock in prosperity for all both for the present generations and future generations as well.

“We must deliver these and other great outcomes for our communities and I believe that we will take every opportunity to meet these objectives”

Cllr Haley will also take on the responsibility as Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources.

Councillor Roy Barker was replaced by Derek Osborne as Chairman of the Council, choosing the East Anglian Air Ambulance and East Anglian Children’s Hospices as the charities he will support over his tenure.

The council also elected Cllr Nick Gowrley as Deputy Leader and portfolio holder for Housing.

Cllr David Burn was made Portfolio Holder for Environment and Environmental Health, Cllr Diana Kearsley Portfolio Holder for Communities, Cllr Gerard Brewster Portfolio Holder for Economy and Stowmarket Regeneration and Cllr John Whitehead Portfolio Holder for Planning.