Cllr Michael Jones is the new Leader of the Conservative Group of Cheshire East Council and, given the Conservative majority, he is set to take over as the Leader of Cheshire East Council in May when Cllr Wesley Fitzgerald steps down.
The current Cabinet Member for Resources was elected by his fellow Conservatives when they voted this morning, Saturday 17th March. He beat Cllr Howard Murray, ward member for Poynton East and Pott Shrigley, in the two man race.
Cllr Roland Domleo, the former Deputy, was expected by many to stand as a candidate but chose not to for personal reasons and Cllr David Brown, Performance and Capacity Portfolio Holder, initially put himself forward as a candidate but later withdrew his nomination citing personal reasons.
However, he retained his nomination for Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group of Cheshire East Council and was elected to take over this role with immediate effect.
Cllr Jones is a relative newcomer to Cheshire East Council, having been elected as ward member for Bunbury in May 2012. He joined the Cabinet as the financial chief in September.
Michael Jones' previous roles include working to develop the Scottish Housing Act and the Docklands Redevelopment Papers. He then moved into investment banking, owning a large investment banking headhunting and advisory business with offices in Frankfurt, Madrid, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.
In a letter to his Conservative colleagues last week, he talked about the need for "greater group unity and civility" which would only be achievable by "making members more actively connected to the decision implementation process".
He wrote "I may be considered a newcomer to Local Government, but I bring with me a wide range of transferable skills in finance, business and urban planning that have served me well in my previous career and that have already proven their worth at Cheshire East."
He added "Complex financial issues require constant reciprocal dialogue and the ability to be both proactive and vision-led. I bring these same Leadership qualities to the Conservative Group including developing, motivating and being an integral part of an effective team – a strategy that ensured success when running my own international financial services business and has been invaluable in my role as a Magistrate here In Cheshire East."
Speaking about his leadership style Cllr Jones said "Cllr Fitzgerald provided the firm hand required to steer the newly formed Cheshire East Council through its first vulnerable years. However, I believe that now is the time to build on that foundation where strong leadership is accompanied by a wider sharing of policy decision-making across the Conservative Group; making better use of the diverse experience and skills-base of members and re-building Group cohesion and accountability. I believe that members should lead the Council - not be led by the Council.
"I will therefore be proactively supporting current work exploring hybrid models of Council Governance. I believe this is critical if we are to achieve better member engagement, better policies in all areas of Local Government and be more accountable to our electorate. It is in this context that if selected, I will be a 'hands on' Leader – involved in the practicalities of delivering high quality services for Cheshire East residents, listening to ideas, responding to challenging questions and driving through required change."
Updated 1pm on Monday 19th March.
Current Leader of Cheshire East Council Wesley Fitzgerald said: "I am pleased to say that I think Councillor Michael Jones will make an excellent Leader and am confident he will lead Cheshire East as its starts this new chapter.
"Once elected, the challenge for the new Leader is to form a new Cabinet and make the appointments necessary to give the utmost strength to the future policy making of the Council. We are now in this transitional period whilst we await the new Leader being voted in at the Council on May 16th."
Cheshire East Council Chief Executive Erika Wenzel said: "I look forward to working with the new Leader and Cabinet in carrying on the outstanding work of Wesley Fitzgerald."
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