By Saul Cooke-Black

STONEHOUSE Councillor Lesley Williams has been unanimously backed to lead the Labour Party on Gloucestershire County Council for the coming year.

Improving care for older people and devolving more powers from Westminster to Gloucestershire are among Gloucestershire Labour Group's top priorities.

Mrs Williams said: "It is a privilege to lead the most effective opposition group on the county council.

"Labour's fightback will not start in Parliament or in Labour HQ, but in Labour groups like ours throughout the county.

"At the county council we are faced with a Tory administration increasingly propped up by UKIP. But people can depend on us to hold the Tories to count without fear or favour.

"We will continue to challenge the Tory administration to ensure local residents get the best possible services from the county council.”

Mrs Williams, who has been leader of the Labour Group since 2012, said she would also support a call to compensate residents affected by the building of the incinerator at Javelin Park.

She said she was proud of the group's record in speaking up for communities affected by the incinerator and also pointed to Labour's success in raising the living wage.

She added: "Nationally the Labour Party has had a tough week and we have a challenging few years ahead.

"There are serious challenges facing the county council. The budget for older people’s services is massively over spent, there is a looming funding crisis in many of our schools and there is an enormous backlog in work repairs.

"Locally, our work in our communities and in Shire Hall matters more than ever."