By Maria Zaccaro, Local Democracy Reporter
A new leader of Southampton City Council and new cabinet members have been appointed.
Conservative Cllr Daniel Fizthenry has officially been elected as the new leader following the local elections on May 6 when the Tories won control of the city council.
The new Conservative administration
The appointments were announced at the Annual General Meeting held at Southampton O2 Guildhall this afternoon (Wed 19).
Alex Houghton, 28, a councillor for Peartree ward, has become the new mayor of Southampton. He’s reportedly the youngest mayor the city has ever had.
Meanwhile long-standing Labour councillor Jacqui Rayment is the new sheriff.
At the meeting – which was the first in person meeting held at the city council in more than a year – Cllr Fitzhenry also appointed his new cabinet.
Cllr Jemery Moulton, former leader of the Conservatives and newly elected councillor for Millbrook ward, is the new deputy leader and cabinet member for growth.
He will be responsible for transport and economy.
The other cabinet members are as follows: Cllr John Hannides (finance); Cllr Steve Galton (environment); Cllr Peter Baillie (children’s social care); Cllr James Baillie (education); Bitterne Park ward councillor Ivan White (health and adult social care); Cllr Spiros Vassiliou (communities, culture and heritage); and Bitterne Park ward councillor Rob Harwood (customer service and transformation).
Cllr Fitzhenry, left, said: “It is a pleasure and honour to be elected as leader of the council. I am incredibly excited. I am looking forward to meeting people and understanding their challenges and bringing forward a solution to help people this city get moving and recover from Covid.”
He confirmed that there are plans to remove the bus lane on Bitterne Road West and freeze council tax next year.
As reported, it’s understood that a new Labour leader will be elected in the coming weeks after Cllr Christopher Hammond announced he will stand down.
This article is from the Local Democracy Reporting Service or Shared Data Unit. Some alterations and additions may have been made by our site, which is a partner in the BBC's Local News Partnerships scheme. LDRS journalists are funded by the BBC to cover local authorities and other public service organisations, and content is shared with all partners.