Daniel Allen has been removed from his role as leader of North Herts Council after losing a vote of no confidence last Thursday (December 4). 

Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors voted to remove Cllr Allen, who led a minority Labour administration, after his cabinet chose to back the four-unitary model for the reorganisation of local government in Hertfordshire rather than the two-unitary option that was preferred by the full council.

Opposition councillors argued that the cabinet's decision "ignored" the views of elected representatives, while Labour cabinet members insisted they had supported the option that had been most popular in a public consultation and would "keep local government truly local". 

Cllr Val Bryant, who served as deputy leader in Cllr Allen's administration, automatically took over as acting leader of the council following the vote of no confidence and said the Labour group is "very solidly together".

A new permanent leader is likely to be elected at an extraordinary meeting of the full council that has been called for Tuesday, January 13.

By that date, Cllr Bryant told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, "what we really want is for Daniel to be back in [the] position of being leader and working up to that". 

The council is currently made up of 23 Labour councillors, 20 Liberal Democrats, seven Conservatives and one independent. 

The Liberal Democrat and Conservative groups have ruled out any kind of coalition or other arrangement between their parties, and both separately said they would not find any administration led by Cllr Allen to be "acceptable".

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Ruth Brown has, however, not ruled out making an arrangement with Labour, and said her group would "work in the background to support Labour to find a new leader that would be acceptable".

Cllr Allen himself, who remains a member of the council's cabinet, said that he was "keen" for North Herts Council to continue to be run by a Labour administration rather than a coalition, and added: "At the moment, I intend to continue as group leader."

Asked whether he hoped to be nominated again for the leadership of the council at January's meeting, Cllr Allen said: "In politics, you never say never."

Discussions between and within the groups are expected to take place over the coming weeks in the lead-up to the January 13 meeting.

At last night's meeting, 25 councillors voted to remove Cllr Allen as leader, while 19 voted against and one abstained. 

The motion of no confidence had been brought by Cllr Ruth Brown, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group, who said Cllr Allen had "ignored the will of the full council".

She continued: "The leader and his cabinet voted for the break-up of North Hertfordshire and a Central unitary council starting with a £22m deficit.

"The leader voted to place a border through North Herts, cutting off Royston and separating many villages such as Ashwell and Sandon, from their local services, while ignoring the will of local members who represent these communities.

"During the cabinet meeting, the leader made public a private conversation with me, claiming that I had threatened him.

"He has repeatedly invited us to talk to him, and yet he misused what I offered as a courtesy.

"A leader who breaks a confidence cannot be trusted with the leadership of a council."

She also criticised Cllr Allen's claims to be "defending" the "democratic decision" of residents.

In a consultation on local government reorganisation earlier this year, 151 North Herts residents expressed a preference for the four-unitary model while 144 backed the two-unitary model.

Councillors, meanwhile, backed the four-unitary model over the two-unitary option by 24 votes to 17 – though the final decision on which would be formally backed by the council rested with the Labour cabinet. The Government will decide which option is implemented across Hertfordshire.

The four-unitary option would create a new Central Hertfordshire authority containing Stevenage, Welwyn Hatfield and most of North Herts. Some North Herts wards, including Ermine, Weston & Sandon and those in Royston, would instead join a new Eastern Hertfordshire authority.

The two-unitary model, on the other hand, would divide Hertfordshire into West and East authorities.

The leader of the Conservative group, Cllr Ralph Muncer, supported the vote of no confidence in Cllr Allen's leadership and accused the Labour administration of showing a "blatant disregard for democracy" by backing the four-unitary model.

Cllr Muncer said: "The choice facing the Labour cabinet on the question of local government reorganisation wasn't a difficult one to answer because the council clearly and explicitly expressed its view.

"Instead of upholding the democratic will of council, cabinet chose not only to put party before community, not only to force our residents to pay more and to get less, but to consciously, deliberately and wilfully subvert and undermine our local democracy.

"There is no greater charge that can be laid against an administration.

"That is why we are here tonight, to hold the administration … accountable for such a reprehensible action."

In his own speech, Cllr Allen said that the Labour administration had "delivered real, tangible improvements for the people we serve", pointing to the Churchgate regeneration project that has "begun to move" and to "long delayed" investment in a sustainable museum storage solution.

He said: "Tonight's vote may seek to remove me as leader. That's politics. But let me be absolutely clear: North Herts District Council will continue to run with strong, determined Labour leadership."

Cllr Allen's party colleagues criticised the Liberal Democrat and Conservative groups, with Cllr Vijaiya Poopalasingham accusing them of engaging in "political theatre" and Cllr Emma Fernandes describing the vote of no confidence as "deeply unjust and personal".

The cabinet member for enterprise, Cllr Tamsin Thomas, warned that the process of removing one leader and installing another could "have a very real impact" on the council's work, including the upcoming budget and major projects such as the Churchgate regeneration.

The council's acting leader, Cllr Bryant, said the next month is expected to be "busy", with a Local Government Association corporate peer challenge later this month. 

The leaders of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups said they will continue to work with council officers in an attempt to avoid disruption to the council's day-to-day running, particularly with preparations for next year's budget well underway.