EX-MILITARY man William Brown has been appointed the leader of Barnsley Council following Reform’s historic election win last week.
Councillor Brown was one of three Reform candidates to oust the Labour councillors from the North East ward last week, receiving 1,212 votes in total.
He says he is a family man who served ten years in the military.
Following his appointment, which was made at Reform’s meeting on Tuesday, he said: “I am delighted to have been chosen by my group colleagues to lead them.
“It will be an honour to serve as the Leader of Barnsley Council.
“We’re now working to appoint a cabinet that will support us in taking Barnsley Council forward for the benefit of all residents in the borough, including those who voted for us and those who did not.
“We understand people are keen to hear our plans for Barnsley, but it’s important we don’t rush into major decisions.
“We’re in a period of transition, and we will have more to say in the coming weeks.”
Councillor Edward Dillingham, who was elected into the Stairfoot ward, has been named as Brown’s deputy.
He is a businessman and father-of-three.
He added: “William will be a great leader for Barnsley and I look forward to working with him as we take the council forward.
“We’re here for every resident, and we’re committed to making our borough an even better place to live.”
A decision will be made on the cabinet over the coming weeks, but councillors have urged residents to give them time while they learn their new roles.
Of the 63 councillors, Reform have a huge 42 - smashing the 32 seats needed for a majority.
Only two of those councillors - Gill Carr and Andrew Gillis - have served in the town hall before.
Speaking after the election, Coun Dillingham told the Chronicle he believes that can be seen as a good thing.
He added: “We’ve got people from every walk of life.
“We’ve got architects, business owners, people who work for massive businesses, builders and electricians.
“I can sit all those people in the room and the ideas they come out with are awesome.
“Put them all in a room and they’re going to smash it.
“I’m proper buzzing for this because I cannot stand the thought of being run by politicians.
“Look where it’s got us.”
Labour are now the official opposition after a disastrous night for the sitting councillors saw them win only 11 seats.
The Liberal Democrat group have eight seats, while the remaining two have gone to independents.
It is the first time since the metropolitan borough council’s inception that any party other than Labour have led at the town hall.
n A full election round-up can be found on pages 12 and 13.
