Derbyshire county councillor steps down as opposition group leader

Cllr Fordham was re-elected in May, last year, as the only surviving county council group leader from the previous term after Reform UK claimed 42 out of the council’s 64 seats to secure an overall controlling majority.

He said: “I am not standing down as a councillor. I have stood down as Group Leader due to personal domestic issues that I need to concentrate on.”

The outspoken Liberal Democrat who challenged the former Conservative county council administration during the last term has done similarly with the current Reform UK administration despite being absent at more than half of recent meetings.

But after making way as the county council’s Liberal Democrat Leader he will continue to serve his Spire division in the Chesterfield district as a county councillor.

Cllr Fordham’s record for recent attendances at meetings shows on the council’s website that out of ten expected attendances he has achieved only four out of ten possible appearances.

Fellow Liberal Democrat, Tom Snowdon, who oversees Walton, Brampton and Boythorpe, also in the Chesterfield district, and who is also no stranger to standing on his feet and speaking out at council meetings has now taken on the role of the county council’s opposition Liberal Democrat Leader.

Cllr Fordham added: “My commitment to Spire Division remains strong and vocal. I wish Tom well and he has my full support. He will be an effective and articulate advocate for the people of Derbyshire.”

By contrast, Cllr Snowdon’s record for recent attendances at meetings shows on the council’s website that out of eight expected attendances he has been present six times.

Cllr Snowdon also serves as a Chesterfield Borough Councillor for the Walton ward.

Chesterfield Borough Cllr Paul Holmes, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the borough council, confirmed that the Liberal Democrat county councillors unanimously adopted Cllr Snowdon as their new Leader.

Borough Cllr Holmes said Cllr Snowdon is an experienced councillor having already served for seven years on the borough council and he was elected to the county council last year.

He added that Cllr Snowdon has spoken out at county council meetings over the last year on a variety of issues.

Cllr Holmes said: “I have found Tom’s contribution over the last seven years to be invaluable.

“Tom started his working life as a welder in a shipyard. He then studied for an engineering degree and went on to work in the car industry.

“In more recent years he worked, across a number of countries, overseeing projects for an international renewable energy technology company.

“His wide, real world experience of finance and management in large organisations is certainly something that is greatly needed in a large organisation such as Derbyshire County Council and even more so in the vast and unwieldy unitary authority that the Labour Government are about to impose on Derbyshire.”

Derbyshire County Council is currently made up of only three Liberal Democrats including Cllr Fordham, Cllr Snowdon and Cllr Sue Burfoot who represents the Matlock division of the Derbyshire Dales district.

The council’s controlling Reform UK group continues to boast 42 councillors, and the council also includes ten Conservative councillors, three Labour councillors, three Green Party councillors, two Derbyshire Independents and one Independent.

County Cllr Snowdon was approached for a comment but was unavailable to provide a statement at the time of publication.

Derbyshire County Council was also asked for a comment but indicated it was for the Liberal Democrat Group to comment on Cllr Fordham’s circumstances and upon Cllr Snowdon’s new appointment as the council’s new Lib Dem Group Leader.