New Liberal Democrat Leader announced

Blackburn with Darwen Liberal Democrats elected Cllr. David Foster as their new Group Leader for 2006/7. Cllr. Foster paid tribute to Cllr. Paul Browne who had been Leader for over 20 years and commented on how the Party had grown from 2 seats to 13 under his leadership.

Cllr Foster said, "This is an exciting time for our Party, we have almost replaced the Tories as the official opposition and we expect to be in a position of power in 12 months time." He said that the Liberal Democrats would be providing strong opposition to the Labour, but would not oppose just for the sake of it.

Other positions decided were:

Deputy Leader - Cllr Kevin Connor

Spokespeople:

Adult Social Care - Cllr Karimeh Foster

Children's Services - Cllr Chris Thayne

Citizen's & Consumer Rights - Cllr Alan Dean

Housing & Neighbourhood Services - Cllr Fred Gollop

Leisure & Culture - Cllr Salim Lorgat

Regeneration - Cllr. Roy Davies

Resources - Cllr Kevin Connor

Planning & Highways - Cllr. Paul Browne

Licensing - Cllr Alan Dean

Standards - Cllr Karimeh Foster