Babergh district councillor Jane Gould has welcomed the appointment of a new rainbow alliance leader at Suffolk County Council

The Liberal Democrat, Green and Independent group at Suffolk County Council has adopted Beccles Green councillor Elfrede Brambley-Crawshaw as its new leader.

The group changes leader each year since forming as a rainbow alliance group in 2017, with Beccles councillor Brambley-Crawshaw taking on the role this year.

Cllr Gould, who the Orwell ward member for Babergh, said: "I am thrilled to see that it has been announced that my Green Party colleague Elfrede Brambley-Crawshaw has just been adopted as the new leader of Suffolk County Council's rainbow alliance of Liberal Democrat, Green and Independent County Councillors.

"I wish Elfrede well. It is always good to see councillors working together and forming alliances and I am pleased to be a part of a group of District Councillors on the peninsula who are working well together to bring about the best outcomes for the residents in our part of Babergh."

Cllr Brambley-Crawshawtakes over from Thedwastre South Liberal Democrat councillor Penny Otton, who will be the group's deputy leader for 2020/21.

She said: "I'd like to thank my fellow councillors for being so supportive and giving me the opportunity to lead our group in the final year, as we go into the 2021 elections.

"I also owe a huge thank you to Penny, who has been an amazing leader this year.

"When we formed this group three years ago, we didn't know it would turn out to be such a successful collaboration and I'm really proud of the work we've done so far. There's a lot more to do, particularly supporting our communities through this pandemic and also ensuring Suffolk is doing it all it can in response to the climate emergency."

Peninsula county councillor David Wood (Lib Dem) was the group's first leader in 2017, followed by Green councillor Andrew Stringer in 2018.

The county council is up for election in May next year, with arrangements for 2021 onwards expected to be decided following those polls.