BCP Council elects Cllr Phil Broadhead as leader following sudden resignation of Cllr Drew Mellor
A NEW leader of BCP Council has been elected following the recent sudden resignation of Cllr Drew Mellor last week.
As reported in the A&T, Cllr Mellor quit last Monday, blaming the government and council officers for blocking efforts to new ways of raising money.
His successor, fellow Conservative Cllr Phil Broadhead, who represents Talbot and Branksome Woods, promised to work across the political divide after he was voted in on Tuesday at an extraordinary meeting.
Cllr Mellor's minority administration has been under fire for its handling of the council's finances since July last year when the government blocked it from setting up a commercial company to buy the authority's 3,600 beach huts to raise £54m.
It is now facing an assurance review of its governance arrangements by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Cllr Broadhead told the full council meeting it was a "great honour" to be the third leader of BCP Council since its formation.
"I view my job over the next few months as bringing some stability, and hopefully some experience and professionalism to the final days of this term as we move towards local elections next May," he said.
"We are not in a majority council and it's absolutely vital that we work cross-party to continue pushing to make Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole one of the best places in the country to live, work, and visit.
"Thank you all very much for putting your faith in me, and I hope not to let you down."
Cllr Broadhead was nominated by Cllr Anne Filer, who praised her colleague as "immensely likeable and highly intelligent", making him the "perfect representative".
She said: "Phil and his family lived in all three of our towns and he's very passionate about the area.
"There's no doubt in my mind that he's a rising star in politics and he already has a shining future.
"I'm absolutely confident he will do the best he can for us all, no matter which party or group we represent."
Cllr Jane Kelly told the meeting that one of Cllr Broadhead's greatest talents was "being able to influence others without confrontation and accept criticism gracefully".
"He's happy to work cross-party, which is something that has become very important in recent times when some really important national circumstances have meant that, as a council, we've had to work differently to support and serve our residents," she said.
