News | Monthly Report

Month One Report

Month one has been a hectic one. Since polling day on 1st May and the election count on the 2nd May, we’ve had a lot of events and training to attend, inducting us into our roles as Councillors, setting up IT equipment and access etc.

In the first Full Council meeting this month, we elected the Lancashire County Council Chairman for 2025/26, the previous Vice Chairman (Conservative) Alf Clempson. We also elected a new Vice Chairman, (Reform UK) Paul Hutchinson.

We elected the Reform UK Lancashire County Council leader Stephen Atkinson, Deputy Leader Simon Evans, as well as the County’s Cabinet positions. Lead Members, Champions and various appointments to Outside Bodies followed shortly thereafter.

I am pleased to have been appointed as Lead Member for Finance & Resources, so I’ll be heavily involved in matters relating to the budget, employment & HR, finance, procurement, property and more. The work has begun already, more news to come.

I had the pleasure of attending the meetings of Clowbridge and Dunnockshaw Parish Council, Habergham Eaves Parish Council and Cliviger Parish Council, discussing local matters and getting to know the local Parish Councillors. The Hapton Parish and Padiham Town Council meetings are in June. Burnley’s other Councillors also attended Parish Council meetings; Briefcliffe, Ightenhill and Worsthorne.

The Burnley Reform UK team of County Councillors also attended a meeting of K.E.S. Ketamine Education Services, to learn more about the impact and scale of ketamine addiction, which is having profound health impact on those who suffer from it, and to listen to the ideas of the founder and attendees to inform us how best to tackle the issue. More on this soon. We also attended local events, such as for VE Day and the Burnley Football Club promotion parade’s civic reception, courtesy of the Mayor of Burnley.