The newly elected members of Cornwall Council will meet for the first time at County Hall in Truro today to choose a new leader.
The meeting, which will be held in the Council Chamber, will also see a new Chairman and Vice-Chairman, and the appointment of committees.
Proceedings will begin at 10.30am, with the meeting initially chaired by the council’s current Chairman, Cllr Pauline Giles, before the new Chairman is elected following nominations, speeches and a vote of all 87 members.
Once the process is concluded, the successful councillor will take over the chairmanship of the meeting before moving onto the election of a Vice-Chairman using the same process.
The election of a new leader will then take place, following the same process, with nominations and the opportunity to address the chamber before a vote is taken.
Members of the public are welcome to view proceedings at County hall, or the meeting can be watched online via the council’s webcast service, or you can follow the live blog below:
9am: Today's meeting will start at 10.30am.
10.26am: The chamber is filling up ahead of today's meeting starting.
10.32am: The meeting is started by the current chairman, Cllr Pauline Giles, and begins with prayers.
10.37am: We now move onto apologies for absence, and onto the election of a new chairman.
10.38am: The first nomination for the new Chairman is Cllr Rob Nolan, whose name is put forward by Cllr Loic Rich, who says he cannot think of anyone better to undertake the role, which is as much about being an ambassador as it is around running meetings. Cllr Chris Batters seconds the nomination.
10.40am: There ae no other nominations. Cllr Nolan says he understands what an honour it is to take on the role. He tells the chamber that he has been on the council since its creation in 2009, and was chairman of the strategic planning committee for six years. He says he believes in openness and transparency, for both councillors and the public, and wants to hear more debate in the chamber as well as answers to questions.
10.42am: Cllr Nolan is elected as chairman of the council, with 22 councillors abstaining from the vote, and all other members voting in favour.
10.44am: Cllr Nolan takes his seat and pays tribute to his predecessor, Cllr Giles, who he warns can expect several questions. We now move onto the election of a vice-chairman.
10.46am: Cllr John Martin nominates Cllr John Thomas as vice-chairman of the council. The nomination is seconded by Cllr James Ball. There are no further nominations.
10.47am: Cllr Thomas says it would be an honour to take the role. We now move to the vote. There are 24 abstentions, and 58 votes in favour, so Cllr Thomas is elected as vice-chairman of Cornwall Council.
10.50am: We now move onto declarations of interest.
10.51am: We now move onto the approval of the minutes of the last council meeting in April. The are approved.
10.52am: We now move onto the election of a leader. Cllr Adam Paynter is the first to speak, and proposes Cllr Leigh Frost, the leader of the Liberal Democrats. The nomination is seconded by Cllr Thalia Marrington. She says it takes courage to take the role at a challenging time, but that Cllr Frost is the person to do so. She describes him as a proud Cornishman, and a local businessman, who became involved in politics in 2016, and was elected to Cornwall Council in 2017. She says he is straight-talking, honest and a man of the people.
10.56am: There are no further nominations. Cllr Frost addresses the chamber, saying he intends to lead for one and all. He says the previous administration were too concerned with party politics, but that the electorate have decided no single party should run the authority, and that working together is the way forwards. He says it is tough times, but that by working together the council can build something better.
10.59am: Cllr Frost is elected as leader with 53 votes for and 25 abstentions.
11am: Cllr Frost says he will not be naming his Cabinet today, but will do so in the time allotted.
11.01am: We are now moving onto the appointment of committees and the allocation of seats, which are decided by the number of councillors each party has within the chamber.
11.03am: Both items are approved. The next agenda item, the State of Cornwall in the National Context speech is deferred until the next meeting, as is normal at the meeting following an election.
11.05am: The next item on the agenda is regarding Mandatory Member Training and how it is recorded. The item is introduced by Cllr Loveday Jenkin and seconded by Cllr Robin Moorcroft.
11.07am: Cllr Dulcie Tudor is first to speak and asks for the item to be deferred. She says she believes that some of the mandatory training should be optional, highlighting the climate and the diversity elements, which she says should be left to people's own beliefs.
11.09am: Cllr Jenkin raises a point of order, stating that the amendment is wrong, as the item is on the monitoring of mandatory training, not its content. It is ruled that the amendment can be voted on.
11.10am: The monitoring officer, Paul Grant, tells the chamber that the appropriate way to deal with the item would be to return it to committee for further discussion.
11.12am: Cllr Laurie Magowan says he will support the original item, and questions why councillors should not undertake the training and hear new and different ideas.
11.13am: Cllr Rob Parsonage is next to speak, and says he agrees with Cllr Tudor and would like to see the item returned to committee.
11.16am: We are now seeing a vote on the amendment. The amendment is defeated, and we return to the substantive motion, which is approved.
11.17am: That concludes today's meeting.