Scarborough Council Labour leader, Cllr Steve Siddons, reacts to motion of no confidence

Cllr Siddons has responded to a motion of no confidence against him.

Two Conservative councillors and three Independents have signed a letter to the Mayor of Scarborough requesting an Extraordinary Meeting of Full Council to be held within seven days.

Cllr Bill Chatt (Ind), Cllr Heather Phillips (Con), Cllr Sam Cross (Ind), Cllr Alf Abbott (Con) and Cllr John Casey (Ind) said they have "no confidence"in the current leadership and claimed there is "discontent" amongst members of the council.

In a statement in response to this, Cllr Siddons said: "Today was a big day as we launched an important plan for the future of our towns.

"Our Building A Better Borough Strategy is designed to create a better quality of life for residents and businesses alike. It is a pity that a handful of councillors have moved a motion to stop this progress.

"This Strategy is part of our drive to turn around the fortunes of the Borough through local economic growth, doing the basics better and providing high quality social housing for people to rent.

"The project will also involve giving residents and businesses and Councillors the opportunity to have their say and play their part in driving this Borough forwards into the next decade.

"As part of that Strategy today we gave greater detail on the bid for the Town Deal. This is the first of a series of projects and more will be announced over the coming days.

"The Town Deal, which will bring huge benefits to Scarborough and Whitby up to the tune of £50m could be life changing in terms of investment and employment prospects. And we have not forgotten Filey and will create a Town Investment Plan for that town with our own Area Action Plan."