By james art Council leader Amanda Hopgood has criticized Karl Marshall and questioned why the Stanley councilor has missed numerous full council meetings.
Liberal Democrat councilor Hopgood has hit out at claims about the quality of the local authority’s leadership and its status in the North East Combined Authority. The joint administration responsible for Durham County Council is made up of Liberal Democrat, Conservative and independent councillors.
Cllr Marshall has previously called on Durham County councilors to vote against joining the institution and instead pursue a county-only deal.
On Wednesday, Council leader Hopgood said: “Where is the illustrious leader? For the second time in a row, he chose the party over the county, again with the leadership. This morning I, Councilor Bell and Shield, drove back from Harrogate and we will return after this meeting is over to proceed to the Local Authorities Association conference where we will have meetings this afternoon.
“Councillors Marshall and Shaw couldn’t bring themselves to come back, they didn’t come back from the Labor conference [in September] as I have done to ensure that I am here in a real leadership role to represent the people of County Durham.
“The Leader of the Opposition actively campaigned to keep County Durham out of the North East Combined Authority. He actively spoke to every single leader to say, “Keep Durham out, do everything you can to vote against Durham.”
“Don’t come here and criticize us and talk about leadership when you have no idea.”
Recommended reading:
Subscribe to The Northern Echo now.
Karl Marshall said his party was “laser focused” on putting County Durham first. In response to the comments, he said: “If cllr Hopgood spent the same amount of time dealing with the issues affecting our residents as she spends monitoring my diary, County Durham could be in better shape.
“She claims I am the one who chooses ‘party over county’ when she personally intervened to prevent the chief executive of Durham County Council from attending meetings with senior ministers – something which myself and members of The Labor Party we proposed to facilitate.
“I would put my council attendance record against anyone in this coalition. However, cllr Hopgood’s outburst – after a debate on child poverty when a negative Lib Dem motion was rejected in favor of a positive Labor amendment – was not righteous fury over my alleged lack of attendance. It was the death cry of a coalition that was never fit to run this council, and she knows her days and those of her colleagues are numbered in May.”