Liberal Democrats announce the new Cabinet for Northampton Borough Council

5.31.53am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 12th May 2007

The Liberal Democrat group on Northampton Borough Council has announced the new cabinet following a meeting to elect the portfolio holders.

· Leader and cabinet member for Partnerships and Improvement - Cllr Tony Woods

· Deputy leader and cabinet member for Community Engagement & Safety - Cllr Brendan Glynane

· Cabinet member for Housing - Cllr Sally Beardsworth

· Cabinet member for Regeneration - Cllr Richard Church

· Cabinet member for Environment - Cllr Trini Crake

· Cabinet member for Performance - Cllr Brian Hoare

· Cabinet member for Finance - Cllr Malcolm Mildren

Leader of the Council Cllr Tony Woods said: "With over half a century of combined service as Borough and County councillors, this cabinet comprises experience, talent and enthusiasm.

"Virtually every member of the team has shadowed their portfolio over the last year or two, but together we are looking forward to getting to grips with our new portfolios. We are due to meet with the Interim Chief Executive and Directors very soon to discuss the challenges both in the immediate future and the long term. We can then start to put into action real change and improvement in the council and drive forward our policies on issues like town centre regeneration and communications.

"We have three immediate priorities.

1. To release the energies of our staff to deliver a much better service to the public.

2. To improve the way the Borough Council works with other key organisations in the town - such as the County Council, West Northants Development Corporation and the Police - by working better together we can make significant improvements to Northampton.

3. To satisfy the demands of the government and their inspectors that Northampton Borough Council has effective leadership and is taking urgent steps to improve from its current position as one of the worst performing councils in the country.

"Critical to all these is employing a top notch Chief Executive as soon as possible, providing clear leadership and getting a firm grip on the finances of the Council. There is a massive challenge ahead but I am sure that the Cabinet we have selected are up to those challenges."

Further information on Cabinet members.

Cllr Tony Woods, Borough Ward Councillor for St David's is a Chartered Engineer and expert on automation systems. He was first elected in 2003 and became Group Leader in 2005.

Cllr Brendan Glynane, Borough councillor for Delapre, is also a serving councillor on Northamptonshire County Council, having been elected in 2005 for the first time. He is chair of the National Flood Forum.

Cllr Sally Beardsworth, Borough and County councillor for Kingsthorpe. Sally was one of the original group of four Liberals elected to the Borough Council in 1983 - one of the first Liberals on Northampton Borough Council in over a quarter of a century. A former Mayor of Northampton. Sally is an expert on housing issues having helped many individuals with housing problems over the years.

Cllr Richard Church was another of the original four Liberals elected in 1983. He is Borough ward councillor for Kingsthorpe, a serving councillor on Northamptonshire County Council and a member of the Northamptonshire Police Authority . He worked as a Director of a Town Centre business for many years so understands the needs of business in Northampton.

Cllr Trini Crake, Borough ward councillor for Boughton Green, is currently serving her second term on Northampton Borough Council and was recently elected Parish Councillor for Collingtree. She is a member of the Town Centre Commission and over the past year has visited Bristol, Milton Keynes, Wakefield and Liverpool to see how other Councils deliver better quality recycling.

Cllr Brian Hoare, is Borough and County councillor for Abington Ward. He has led the team on the County Council during the last 2 years which produced the Liberal Democrat alternative budgets and has recently been elected as Liberal Democrat Group Leader on the County Council. In his second term on the Borough Council Brian has shadowed this portfolio and chaired the Overview and Scrutiny Task & Finish Group which made recommendations to improve the Borough's annual Best Value Performance Report.

Cllr Malcolm Mildren, Borough ward councillor for Parklands, is new to the Borough but served on the County Council for 8 years as a Conservative before 'crossing the floor' in 2005 to join the Liberal Democrats. He is a qualified accountant and has long experience of council finances.