Anger at Animal Farm ‘men and pigs’ comparison after new West Lancashire Council leadership decision

Conservative and independent OWL councillors have become the new leaders of West Lancashire Council – sparking a controversial Labour comparison to indistinguishable ‘men and pigs’ from a betrayal scene in George Orwell’s book Animal Farm.

Conservative and OWL councillors insist they are not a coalition but simply creating a practical arrangement to get things done. And OWL’s leader angrily rejected Labour’s comparison.

The shift in power follows Labour losses in the local elections and losing control of the council. And new Reform councillors have taken their seats too for the first time.

Tory Coun David Whittington was elected the new council leader while Adrian Owens of Our West Lancashire (OWL) was elected deputy at the council’s annual meeting.

Recommending David Whittington as leader, Coun Owens said: “David has been a councillor for 12 years and been a finance spokesman and group leader. His attention to details has been invaluable.

“We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘there is no money’. This council faces a £2.5m project gap next year. To run the council lawfully and effectively for the remaining two years before West Lancashire is expected to be abolished, at least 23 councillors are required in votes to elect the key positions. No single group could reach that threshold alone, meaning co-operation is essential.

“OWL has spoken with all the political groups. Reform does not have enough councillors to form a stable arrangement with any other group. Labour, having lost in all the wards they contested, are not seeking to continue leading the council.

“That left only one viable route – co-operation between the Conservative and OWL groups. The arrangement allows the council to meet its legal obligations and ensures that committees reflect the political balance of this chamber, operating on a straightforward one-councillor, one-vote basis.

“We want to build consensus where possible. This is not a coalition and our groups remain independent. But Coun Whittington is straight-forward and reasonable, and to successfully lead the council now with its different groups will require skill.”

In votes, Conservative, OWL and Reform UK councillors backed the new top roles.

Although Mark Anderson, the Labour group’s new leader, acknowledged there had been some cross-party talks since the elections, he blasted the Conservative-OWL arrangements.

He said: “I wish Coun Owens and Whittington well in the coming year. Working together for the benefit of residents is important. However, some of the proposals from the Conservatives and OWL are not working in that way. They are seeking to misrepresent the outcomes of the elections.

“We will not see roles decided proportionally, based on different political groups. The mayor, deputy mayor, leader and deputy leader roles have all been taken by the new coalition. Make no mistake that OWL and the Conservatives will work together.”

OWL’s Janet Ingman was elected as mayor and Conservative John Howard as deputy. Labour’s Yvonne Gagen, the former council leader, had been considered by Labour but the group ultimately decided not to enter a candidate for mayor.

Then Coun Anderson added: “I used to have respect for the independents. However, let’s see how many times they vote together from now. We have seen it tonight and we’ll see it throughout the next year.”

He then quoted from Animal Farm, suggesting the Conservatives and OWL were indistinguishable. He said: ”The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again. But already it was impossible to say which was which.”

But Coun Owens rejected this and accused Labour of hypocrisy, saying: “Last year, Labour took every committee chairperson’s role. You have never given a chair role to anyone in opposition, so I will take no lectures. We are including other groups – Labour and Reform have been offered roles.”

Speaking separately, former Labour councillor Neil Furey, now the OWL chairperson of the Communities & Environment committee, said: “There is no way a coalition would have been acceptable to me or other OWL councillors. Instead, this simply provides a workable structure and a short list of agreed policies — many of which are OWL’s.

“Beyond these agreed items, each group remains independent. Decisions will be taken on their merits, case by case, exactly as OWL has always done. OWL councillors remain free to vote according to their judgement on any matter not covered in the agreement.”