It's back to the future for Shropshire Council

Councillor Malcolm Pate, who represents Albrighton, was the unanimous and unopposed choice of Shropshire Council's Conservative Group as they looked to replace Keith Barrow, following his shock resignation last week.

He was elected at the group's meeting on Monday night, and with only the formality of his official election at full council on December 17 remaining, he has already started on what he openly describes as a "poison chalice" of a role.

Though many have been both surprised and saddened by his departure from the political stage, there has been a smooth transition.

Like all politicians, Mr Barrow did not enjoy universal popularity. There were those who disagreed with his principles and with the way he went about his business.

They were, however, in a minority, for Mr Barrow exited the stage with his head held high. He was charismatic and largely popular, a man who did not shirk from his responsibilities and was not afraid to take tough decisions.

He oversaw a huge reduction in council services, brought about by the age of austerity. And he handled himself with dignity and earned the respect of many political friends and foes. An investigation into his adherence to the council's code of conduct undoubtedly hastened his departure.

Mr Barrow will be remembered as an effective leader who skilfully managed the council's affairs. He had a clear vision and was adept both at communicating it to others and implementing it for what he saw as the greater good.

The authority's new leader, Councillor Malcolm Pate, is stepping into big shoes, for Mr Barrow is a tough act to follow. He wants a new approach and that is to be welcomed. Politics is ill served by stasis and change frequently has a galvanising effect.

Councillor Pate has already spoken about the importance of continuity, of avoiding a shake-up of his cabinet until he better understands the challenges facing the council.

He has also called for all political parties to work together for the good of the county, putting political bias to one side and regional interest first. They are words that the electorate will welcome for it is well known that the council faces straitened times.

There must be co-operation from all quarters as the authority grapples with ever-decreasing finances and makes tough decision. Unpopular choices lie ahead and a non-partisan approach will be in the interests of all local residents.

Mr Barrow presided over a council that has a good reputation on the national stage and largely avoided controversy.

Councillor Pate deserves support as he sets out to steer the authority in the right direction.

The councillor comes backed by a wealth of experience having led Shropshire County Council for six years before it was replaced by the unitary authority in existence today – playing an instrumental role in the adoption of the new model.

However, the financial situation facing the council now is considerably more stark, with Mr Barrow having only launched a consultation over plans to save £77 million from the authority's budget last month.

Speaking on his first day in the job, Councillor Pate said: "I am under no doubt whatsoever, the problems facing us now are very different to the problems that faced the old council and my priority has to be to get the finances in such a situation that we can deliver what services we can."

Councillor Steve Charmley, deputy leader of the Conservative group and acting leader of the council had been suggested as a favourite to take over from Mr Barrow but the vote means he will retain his current post – and will chair today's meeting of the cabinet.

The new leader said he would also be looking to investigate the ramifications of George Osborne's pledge to give councils across the country 100 per cent of business rates they collect.

He warned that the change could lead to Shropshire losing out because of the way the rates are currently collected then re-distributed.

He said: "The funding from central government is drying up and unfortunately the chancellor said in the autumn statement that we could keep 100 per cent of business rates, but that may actually disadvantage us.

"At the moment it is taken in and then re-distributed.

"Unfortunately unless Government puts a safety net in we could be big losers in this situation, because of the rural and sparsely populated nature of Shropshire."

Councillor Pate, aged 72, said he would be lobbying the authority's Members of Parliament to make the case with Government and prevent Shropshire losing out under any changes.

The resignation of Mr Barrow has also led to widespread calls from opposition councillors for a more "inclusive" council, with greater emphasis on the use of scrutiny committees to assess policy.

Councillor Pate said that while he admired the achievements of his predecessor, he would be looking to adopt his own "consensus style of leadership".

He said: "Keith did a lot of good for the council, he was instrumental in guiding the university, but my style is very different to his.

"It is more of a consensus politics, the more people you get involved in the decision the more likely it will be that you come to the right one.

"The style of running the council is obviously an individual matter and Shropshire has adopted the strong leadership and cabinet model, but I found when I was last leader of the county council that being consensual and talking to the groups if there was a problem, would allow you to sort the problems and then usually things just passed through the council more simply."

Councillor Pate said that he was pleased to be moving from his civic role as chairman – a position he has held for six years – to the authority's front line.

He said: "To be honest I did not seek the position but I am pleased.

"It is going to be a really challenging time. I am pleased to do it because I have always enjoyed the politics more than the chairmanship.

"I have found it a little frustrating on occasions as chairman to let other people get on with the politics while I do the civic duties – I had to bite my tongue from time to time."

Councillor Pate has confirmed that he will only remain in the post until the next election in 2017 when the group will "have to find themselves another leader".

He also said that he would not be making any immediate changes to the cabinet's composition, although individual portfolios, and the service areas they contain, could be reviewed.

He said: "I have no intention whatsoever of changing the cabinet until I have looked at all portfolios technically to see what their remit is and more importantly what the outcomes from those are.

"There may be changes in the future but I have no intention of doing that until I have spoken to everyone and found out the remit of their portfolio.

"I have no doubt the problems today are not the problems that faced the authority the last time I was leader of the council."

Councillor Pate has been involved in Shropshire politics for many years. As well as serving Shropshire County Council before it became a unitary authority, he was also a member of Bridgnorth District Council and Albrighton Parish Council.

Mr Barrow's resignation on Friday came after a council scrutiny committee had asked him to undergo code of conduct training and apologise following his failure to declare a business interest during a meeting of council company ip&e – although an investigation made clear he had not benefited in any way from the omission.

In a statement announcing his resignation Mr Barrow had said he was proud of his time as leader but his motivation had wavered and the council needed time to elect a new leader. He said: "To have led the council for such a long time has been a huge challenge and an honour.

"As my motivation has wavered in recent months however I have decided to announce with immediate effect my decision to stand down from Shropshire Council as leader and to step down as a councillor simultaneously to ensure my constituents have the opportunity to elect a new representative and the council has the leadership it needs for the challenges ahead."

As if being leader of Shropshire does not give him enough to do, Councillor Pate also runs his own internet businesses, is a keen yachtsman, and is a published author.

Councillor Pate has one daughter with his wife Sue, who has also dedicated herself to public service sitting on the parish council, the Albrighton Village Hall Committee, and Albrighton Flower Show.

Two years ago he published his first novel, 'Voyage to the World's End', and is currently in discussions over the publication of his second book, described as a "Stephen King-style horror story".

Call for new leader to abandon cabinet model:

The new leader of Shropshire Council has been urged to consider abandoning the authority's cabinet model.

Councillor Malcolm Pate, from Albrighton, was elected as the new leader of the Conservative Group on Monday, and within hours opposition councillors had voiced their hopes that he will adopt a new approach to council business.

Liberal Democrat Andy Boddington, who represents Ludlow North, encouraged Councillor Pate to make more use of opposition councillors.

He said: "A former leader of Shropshire County Council, Malcolm brings experience and stability to the council at a time at a time when it needs just that. He could and should change the way this council is run.

"I hope that he will recognise that strong leadership is not about concentrating power but about sharing responsibility. I hope he sees that opposition councillors can be a resource and should not be driven to the margins as happened during the Barrow era.

"I would plead with Malcolm to reinvent scrutiny committees. They should operate like parliamentary select committees, which was the original intention when the strong leadership model was introduced. He should ensure that scrutiny sessions are chaired by councillors from across the political spectrum, not just by a hand-picked group of Conservatives.

"The days of a single cabinet member making decisions that affect the future of this county should end. Decisions should no longer be made in sessions from which the press and public and excluded. They should be made by cabinet in public – subject to the usual exemptions.

"Alternatively, Malcolm could be even bolder and persuade his colleagues to abandon the strong leader and cabinet model. He could re-introduce the committee governance that served councils so well for more than a century."

Councillor Alan Mosley, leader of the authority's Labour group, urged the new leader to take on a more "transparent" approach.

He said: "While welcoming a change in the leadership of the council we know that Councillor Pate, along with all Tory councillors, has slavishly followed and defended ex-Councillor Barrow's edicts over the last six years.

"Shropshire people deserve better than they have been getting. Shropshire Council has become a sinking ship.

"However, we hope that the change can bring some relief to residents and lessen the severe cuts in services currently being proposed. I welcome Malcolm's commitment to make the authority more transparent, consensual and open."

He said it would require a number of measures including "an end to a dictatorial cabinet regime", "a system of scrutiny and challenge which is not in the hands of the administration", and "a real and consensual commitment to the future of local government and public services".