Slough Labour's first ever female leadership after huge losses in election

Ousted Labour leader James Swindlehurst admitted a 9.99 per cent council tax rise was a ‘poisoned chalice’ as his party was swept from power last week.

After 15 years leading the council, Labour has now fallen behind the Conservatives – who secured 21 seats – as they suffered huge losses to end the count with just 18 councillors.

The remaining three seats went to the Liberal Democrats – meaning no party has an overall majority.

This means that the Conservatives will either have to consider a coalition or a minority administration.

James Swindlehurst, the former Labour leader of the council, was the most high-profile name to lose his seat.

It comes after a turbulent two years which saw the scale of the council’s financial crisis laid bare, leading to widespread asset sales and a huge council tax increase this year.

Mr Swindlehurst said: "Clearly it's been a really difficult couple of years for the council. The council tax rise is a poisoned chalice.

"After 21 years I feel like I’m finally able to begin the rest of my life."

Before the vote count began on Friday, he had already expressed some doubt about how well he would do, but he hoped Labour would still have a good chance of clinging on to power.

Slough’s Labour MP Tan Dhesi also expressed his concerns before the vote count began and said: “It could go either way.”

Once the results were announced, Labour seemed to have a good chance as they secured seats in Baylis & Salt Hill by a landslide.

The tables quickly turned as the Conservatives began to secure more and more seats which were previously occupied by Labour.

All eyes now turn to the future, in which the Lib Dems are the wild cards that will shape the future of the council.

After a group meeting this week, Cllr Pavitar Kaur Mann and Cllr Christine Hulme have been elected as leader and deputy leader of the Slough Labour Group.

Slough Labour said it is ‘committed to holding the council’s incoming leadership to account’.

Cllr Mann said she is ‘proud to form [Slough] Borough’s first-ever female leadership team for a major party locally.’