“A huge amount of respect for Terry”: South Yorkshire Mayor Says

3:02pm

The news of Terry Fox's resignation as leader of the council has dominated the election counts today, but there should still be a 'huge amount of respect', South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, says.

The resignation was announced this morning and followed a report criticising the Sheffield council for its handling of the tree felling scandal.

Liberal Democrats leader, Shaffaq Mohammed, has indicated the Information about the resignation had been embargoed for a week, before voting had finished.

South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, who was at the count in Sheffield, said: "A huge amount of respect for Terry — he took over the reins at a very difficult time and inherited a huge number of challenges and problems.

"He's worked tirelessly for this city, agree or disagree with the things that he's done, no one can doubt Terry's care, attention, or work ethic."

Sheffield somewhat curbs the national trend as Labour impressed throughout local ballots across the country. Indeed, although it has been placed under special measures by its national counterpart, Sheffield Labour will now have to negotiate with other parties on how to best move forward.

Mr Coppard said: "Across the country, the Labour Party has done really well, but there's always more work to do."

"We've got to have a negotiation with the other parties to understand how to move forward in this city."

Terry Fox resignation embargoed for “at least a week”, opposition coucillor says

2:41pm

Despite voters having just learned about Terry Fox's resignation as leader of the council, the information had already been embargoed for "at least a week," an opposition councillor has claimed.

The announcement came earlier today following a report criticising the council about their approach to the tree felling scandal earlier this year.

When asked about this information, Liberal Democrats leader and spokesperson, Shaffaq Mohammed, said Sheffield Labour had already known about it for "at least a week".

He added: "He's been thrown underneath a bus, but he's not the only one that was there when it all happened."

Having embargoed the information until only after the votes for this election were cast, has resulted in criticism regarding the national Labour Party's trust in Sheffield Labour.

Cllr Mohammed, added: "If I was a Labour voter yesterday, I'd be scratching my head thinking 'what on earth have I voted for', because those people have no power anymore.

"I'm now going to have to resist labour bureaucrats from London coming to Sheffield and telling us what to do when they have no democratic mandate whatsoever."

This comes as the Liberal Democrats increased their presence in the council after gaining 11 seats as opposed to the last election's 9 seats.

In the meantime, the Sheffield Labour Party will be placed into special measures until a new leader is found, placing into question the ability and power of decision-making of councillors in Sheffield.