The Conservative Group on Greenwich Council has announced its line-up of Opposition Spokespeople for 2018/19, after successfully defending all 9 seats in this month's local elections.
Coldharbour & New Eltham ward councillor Matt Hartley has been re-elected as Leader of Greenwich Conservatives after the elections, with Eltham South councillor Nigel Fletcher elected as Deputy Leader. Blackheath Westcombe councillor Geoff Brighty was re-elected as Group Whip.
Leader of the Opposition
and Spokesperson for Finance, Economy & Anti-Poverty
Cllr Matt Hartley
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
and Spokesperson for Heritage & Culture
Cllr Nigel Fletcher
Opposition Chief Whip
Cllr Geoff Brighty
Opposition Spokesperson for Transport & Environment
Cllr Matt Clare
Opposition Spokesperson for Housing
Cllr Spencer Drury
Opposition Spokesperson for Community Safety
Cllr John Hills
Opposition Spokesperson for Sport & Leisure
Cllr Charlie Davis
Opposition Spokesperson for Children, Young People & Skills
Cllr Pat Greenwell
Opposition Spokesperson for Health & Social Care
Cllr Roger Tester
The Conservative Group's nominations for the Council's various committees will be put forward at the Annual Meeting of the Council next Wednesday (23rd May), with Opposition Spokespeople nominated to sit on the Scrutiny Panel relevant to their role above.
Leader of the Opposition Cllr Matt Hartley and former Leader Cllr Spencer Dury will be nominated to serve on the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, tasked with scrutinising the administration's decisions across all areas of council policy. Deputy Leader Cllr Nigel Fletcher will be put forward to serve on the Overview & Scrutiny Call-In Sub Committee and Corporate Finance & Performance Scrutiny Panel, with Cllr Matt Hartley serving on the Audit & Risk Management committee.
Cllr Geoff Brighty will be nominated to continue his service on the Planning Board, and will be joined by Cllr Nigel Fletcher in this quasi-judicial role. Cllr Matt Clare will be nominated to continue to bring his transport expertise to the Highways Committee. Cllrs John Hills, Charlie Davis, Geoff Brighty and Pat Greenwell will serve on the council's Area Planning Committees, with Cllr Roger Tester joining Cllrs Geoff Brighty and Pat Greenwell on the Licensing Committee.
Councillor Matt Hartley, Leader of Greenwich Conservatives, said: "After we successfully defended all nine of our seats on the Council in the local elections, the whole team is delighted to be getting to work as we start this new four-year term at the Town Hall. We have a mandate from the campaign that we ran and our manifesto to provide a strong Opposition to hold the new Labour administration to account - and that's exactly what we plan to do."