Bid made to oust Gloucester City Council leader

A bid has been made to oust the leader of the city council over claims of financial mismanagement and a lack of transparency.

A motion of no confidence has been submitted against Gloucester City Council's Jeremy Hilton which, if passed, could see him removed as leader.

Councillor Alastair Chambers, who submitted the item for next Thursday's full council meeting, said Hilton had an "excuse for everything and takes responsibility for absolutely nothing".

Hilton said the motion was "precisely the distraction Gloucester does not need" and he claimed there was a difference between "constructive challenge" and "perpetuating political psychodrama".

Hilton has led a minority administration since the Liberal Democrats became the largest party on the council after the May 2024 elections.

Earlier this year the authority was given £15.5m by the government after effectively going bankrupt.

Last month an independent Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) review found there was a "lack of mutual trust" between the leadership and political parties.

It recommended the council take several steps to improve its financial monitoring.

Chambers, leader of the Community Independent group, said the city was "dying" under Hilton's leadership.

"Whenever he is questioned, he attacks the opposition instead of answering for his own record," he said.

"It's shocking to say the least, and change needs to happen. Gloucester deserves better."

Chambers said there was "nothing personal" in his attempt to remove Hilton.

"He's a lovely chap, I think he's a great guy," he said.

"But... if you've got a drunk driver you take the keys off the driver and that's the situation we've got at the council.

The council is made up of 17 Liberal Democrats, 10 Conservatives, seven Labour, four Community Independents and one Independent Conservative.

The motion would need more than 50 percent of councillors to support it for it to pass.

Chambers has claimed he has the numbers.

Stephanie Chambers, the leader of the GCC Conservative group, said her councillors were "100 percent dedicated to supporting the motion".

She said: "He refuses to work cross-party on anything [and] we feel very strongly that he is not prioritising the right issues.

"He works completely in a silo as far as I'm concerned and it's his way or the highway."

Leader of the Labour group Terry Pullen said the vote would have "serious consequences" for residents, whatever the outcome.

"The Labour group will continue to discuss the situation and potential implications until the council meets next week," he said.

"We should all be taking the time to ensure we do what's right for our city."

Lorraine Campbell, GCCs Independent Conservative, said she is "shocked and saddened" by the motion.

"The city needs our council to be united and working well together for the good of Gloucester residents at this very challenging moment in our history instead of indulging in such time-wasting, personal and petty political squabbles," she added.

Chambers attempted to pass a motion of no confidence in Hilton last year but time ran out for it to be discussed.

Hilton said he was urging opposition members to come forward with ideas on how to improve the council's financial position.

"Tabling another no-confidence motion is the easy bit," he said. "Answering those questions is rather harder.

"Gloucester deserves better than another round of political games."

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