Former Stockport council leader Elise Wilson has announced she will not be standing for re-election next year. Coun Wilson, who still heads up the Labour group, plans to step down in May after completing nine years at the town hall - including three as leader of the council.
The Davenport and Cale Green member was first elected in 2014 and took over from Alex Ganotis as town hall boss when he stepped down in 2019. She remained at the helm during the Covid pandemic and ensured Labour kept its grip on the town hall following the 2021 local elections. Despite the Lib Dems emerging as the largest group, a majority of councillors voted not to bring her term to a premature end.
However, the Lib Dems won out at this year’s council elections, bringing Coun Wilson’s time as council leader to an end. She has now confirmed she is also calling time on her days as a councillor.
“I’m very proud of what I have achieved, as a ward councillor and as leader of the council through one of the most challenging times of our lives,” she said in a statement alluding to both the pandemic and cost of living crisis. I am Stockport born and bred, and Labour born and bred, so to have achieved such a surge in our fortunes has meant everything to me.”
A close ally of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Coun Wilson said it was an honour to hold ‘significant portfolios’ under him at the combined authority, ‘particularly Economy, Business and International Relations’. She continued: “Recently I’ve been able to contribute to policy discussions around themes that are important to me: Labour’s industrial strategy; the next phase of devolution; and also how we conduct ourselves in politics, particularly how we find a safe space for working age women and people with disabilities.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that standing down as a councillor may not close the door on Coun Wilson -who is also close to Angela Rayner MP - continuing to work for the mayor in these areas of interest. New boundary changes across Stockport mean that all 63 seats on Stockport will be contested at next year's local elections.
And with her deputy Coun Tom McGee retiring and a number of other Labour councillors call time on their town hall tenure, Coun Wilson believes it is the right moment for her to move on. “I know there’s a great deal of change in Stockport with the all-out elections next year, and senior members retiring or leaving the council, so I felt this was a good moment to signal to the party that I am ready to do something new and pass the baton to others," she said.
“I have already indicated that I am willing to continue to serve as Group Leader until May 2023 and ensure a smooth transition.”
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