Labour’s Tom Hunt is re-elected as leader of Sheffield City Council

In a two-round voting system, Cllr Tom Hunt (Walkley, Labour) was re-elected as the leader of Sheffield City Council.

As a formality, the Liberal Democrats nominated Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed (Ecclesall) while The Green Party put Cllr Douglas Johnson (City) on the ballot paper.

In the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes was eliminated and that person was Cllr Johnson.

In-between the two rounds, Cllr Mohammed, jokingly, told Cllr Johnson that he had “a choice to make”, referring to the fact that The Green Party could have made Cllr Mohammed the new leader should they opted to vote in either way.

Instead, members of the Green Party group decided to abstain from the second vote thus enabling the Labour majority to (re)elect Cllr Hunt as the (new) leader of Sheffield City Council.

In his speech, Cllr Hunt said he was pleased that they have agreed an administration to continue “to provide stable, competent governance and strong leadership for our city”.

He said Trussell Trust had announced that its foodbanks are supporting more people in South Yorkshire than ever before.

Cllr Hunt said: “A painful reminder that after 14 years of economic chaos, working people are worse off.

“We must continue our work to improve our public transport and make it easier and safer to get around our city,

“To build the new homes we need. To continue our work to regenerate parts of our city alongside overseeing the transformation of our city centre.

“To bring in investment, create new jobs and make Sheffield cleaner, greener and safer

“To improve the Council’s services, spend money wisely and always ensure that politics in Sheffield is conducted in a competent, open and transparent way.”

He added Sheffield for too long has lacked confidence, been too modest.

“We’ve been whispering… But that is changing. We are growing in confidence and it is time to end the modesty and shout about our strengths, to go for growth.

“Because we know that economic growth and social justice – tackling the inequalities that scar too many people’s lives – are two sides of the same coin.

“Sheffield is a city on the up and I look forward to working with all of you to build a better, brighter future for our city.”

Members of the chamber also re-elected Cllr Fran Belbin (Firth Park, Labour) as the deputy leader of the council.

Following this, the council also voted for the chairs and deputy chairs of the committees – Labour will chair four committees, the Liberal Democrats will have three with the Green Party two.

The list is as follows:

Strategy and Resources Committee

Chair: Cllr Tom Hunt (Labour)

Deputy: Cllr Fran Belbin (Labour)

Liberal Democrat Group spokesperson: Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed

Green Group spokesperson: Cllr Douglas Johnson

Finance Committee

Chair: Cllr Zahira Naz (Labour)

Deputy: Cllr Mike Levery (Liberal Democrat)

Green Group spokesperson: Cllr Martin Phipps

Adult Health and Social Care Committee

Chair: Cllr Angela Argenzio (Green)

Deputy: Cllr Sophie Thornton (Liberal Democrat)

Labour Group spokesperson: Cllr Laura McClean

Education, Children and Families Committee

Chair: Cllr Dawn Dale (Labour)

Deputy: Cllr Toby Mallinson (Green)

Liberal Democrat Group spokesperson: Cllr Mohammed Mahroof

Housing Committee

Chair: Cllr Douglas Johnson (Green)

Deputy: Cllr Penny Baker (Liberal Democrat)

Labour Group spokesperson: Cllr Alison Norris

Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee

Chair: Cllr Ben Miskell (Labour)

Deputy: Cllr Alexi Dimond (Green)

Liberal Democrat Group spokesperson: Cllr Andrew Sangar

Economic Development and Skills Committee

Chair: Cllr Martin Smith (Liberal Democrat)

Deputy: Cllr Ibby Ullah (Labour)

Green Group spokesperson: Cllr Henry Nottage

Waste and Street Scene Committee

Chair: Cllr Joe Otten (Liberal Democrat)

Deputy: Cllr Minesh Parekh (Labour)

Green Group spokesperson: Cllr Christine Gilligan Kubo

Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee

Chair: Cllr Kurtis Crossland (Liberal Democrat)

Deputy: Cllr Laura Moynahan (Labour)

Green Group spokesperson: Cllr Marieanne Elliot