East Suffolk District Council: Supporting chief executives in NOC change of control councils

• East Suffolk Council is a non-metropolitan district in Suffolk County with a population of 246,000 at 2021 census.
• The council was formed in 2019 through the merger of the two districts of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney, which had been working in partnership since 2008.
• From its inception until May 2023 the Conservatives were in control of the council.
• After the May 2023 elections the council became no overall control (NOC) with the authority run by a partnership of the Greens, Liberal Democrats and an independent councillor.

East Suffolk Council is a Suffolk district in the East of England. It is a relatively new authority, created in 2019 from the merger of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney. These two councils had shared service arrangements from 2008. Today, the council is the most populous district council which is not a unitary, having a population of almost a quarter of a million. It is a coastal authority with a mix of larger towns (Lowestoft, Felixstowe), smaller towns including seaside resorts and rural areas. In its first elections in 2019 the council returned a Conservative political majority, with the Conservatives winning 39 seats out of the 55 seat council. However, in 2023 the council moved to NOC in the four yearly elections. There is a partnership of Greens, Liberal Democrats and an independent. The Council Leader is Caroline Topping from the Green party and the Deputy Leader, Paul Ashton, is a Liberal Democrat.  The chief executive is Chris Bally who took on the post in January 2023. His reflections on the lessons of working with NOC are included below.

The first elections for East Suffolk produced a significant majority for the Conservatives, who took 39 seats with the next largest party, Labour taking seven seats. This was not a surprise for three reasons:

• Suffolk Coastal had a history of large Conservative majorities
• Waveney did not have such a clearcut political history but since the Noughties elections the council had swung between Conservative control and NOC
• the national elections of 2019 were won by the Conservatives demonstrating wide support for the party.  

Four years later there was a dramatic change in the political map as demonstrated by the table below and the maps. This marked change also witnessed significant churn in the councillor body; out of 55 councillors, 28 councillors were new to the authority.

The next elections take place in 2027.

The council operates a ‘cabinet and leader’ governance system. There is a cabinet of ten including the Leader. The Leader is a Green councillor and the deputy is from the Liberal Democrats. The cabinet comprises six Greens, three Liberal Democrats and an Independent. Six of the cabinet members also have assistant cabinet members. The cabinet meets monthly. There is also an Audit and Governance Committee, Overview and Scrutiny Committee (chaired by an opposition member), and the usual regulatory committees.

Recognising the political change and responding appropriately

The dramatic change in political control was not anticipated; it was anticipated that the Conservatives were likely to retain a majority.   And of the councillors who had sat on the panel which selected the new chief executive in 2023, none were left, all had lost their seats or not stood for re-election. In the response to political change, the chief executive identifies six key factors:

• recognising the difference
• switching on political antennae
• getting the basics right
• starting from scratch
• establishing credibility/trust/rapport.

When the results became clear the chief executive encouraged everyone to consider the potential changes and tune in their political antennae; ‘I said to people “everyone stop” we need to think about this a bit’ and ‘we need to switch on our political antennae’. For example, the planned councillor induction was re-thought to reflect the political changes and the influx of a large number of new councillors. A lot of the usual local government jargon was stripped out, the table plan for induction deliberately ensured cross party groupings - each with a head of service. And the chief executive and directors consciously ‘fronted’ the induction. The chief executive deliberately met early on with each of the group leaders, ensuring that he did not leave anyone out or single anyone out. And senior officers worked to establish effective new relationships with leading councillors.

Partnership administration

The new administration of Greens, Liberal Democrats and an Independent have formed into one ‘group’ called GLI (Greens, Liberal and Independent group). They are a fully functioning group – with group roles taken across the parties. And they only meet separately before the annual general meeting. This particular ‘one group’ model of partnership working in NOC is rare. It appears to reflect a very good level of collaboration across the parties. It was helpful that this partnership pre-dated the 2023 elections – the parties were already working together in opposition.  Although there are some red lines within the group, it has worked well and there have been no bye elections or splintering within the group. There is an agreement between the parties within the partnership. The Leader also has a collaborative style and is universally popular.  

As with other councils transitioning to NOC, there was the usual intensive informal meetings between senior officers and leading councillors.   Chris reflects that, ‘you have to be a little bit up to your elbows in it’. He was consciously seeking to support the new political partnership and the new leader in their transition to control. For example, he recommended to the Leader that they needed to establish informal cabinet meetings. There were the usual frequent meetings with the new cabinet and an emphasis on having open, honest conversations. The chief executive was very much encouraging senior officers to ‘understand and learn’ about the new leading councillors. The chief executive and leader meet frequently on a weekly basis usually face to face.

Officers and the organisation

Political change did challenge the prevailing culture of the organisation. With the previous Conservative majority control there was a familiarity with how to approach member – officer relationships and an understanding that if unsure the Conservative Leader would provide a definitive answer. The previous chief executive had also been a chief executive for 20 years, at East Northamptonshire District and then 17 years at Suffolk Coastal District Council, prior to the shared service arrangement. And so there was a combined impact of dramatic political change alongside change in organisational leadership.   Initially there was a sense in which the members adapted more quickly to the change than officers. And some pockets of the organisation grieved the loss of the previous charismatic leader.  

Chris approached changing the culture and responding positively to the change through encouraging a combination of the following:

• being open
• listening
• learning
• rolling with it
• respectful challenge
• education
• making ‘offers’ to support.

This approach was supporting a ‘holding space’ approach, in essence a collaborative and coaching approach to working together which is particularly useful in establishing new relationships in a time of change.    

This was particularly valuable where so many new councillors were appointed alongside a new cabinet; understandably all very keen to make their mark and produce quick change. Chris also used the familiar change concept of ‘forming, storming, norming…’ to help officers and members understand the need to listen and be open to each other’s ideas and advice. This has helped to encourage an ‘open and trusting atmosphere’. And the chief executive has worked to role model these approaches, for example at times he has made ‘offers’ to provide his personal support for example in difficult policy areas or to support the development of particular relationships. Chris also highlighted the importance of regular ‘golden triangle’ meetings.

Policy steers and crunch points

In the relatively early weeks and first months after the elections, senior officers worked with the cabinet to address ‘urgent’ policy issues that needed to be addressed. For example, officers helped the new administration to write a council motion which set out a clear policy position on a key crunch issue. As time has moved on the cabinet and senior officers have shaped corporate priorities. They have produced a key strategic document, Our Direction 2028 which sets out a four year plan. This received widespread internal and external consultation and was agreed before the budget cycle. This work developed from Cabinet/Corporate Leadership Team away days. One away day included all members of the GLI group not just the cabinet members; ensuring all voices were listened to and a wider buy-in.  

Personal reflections

The chief executive had a number of reflections related to his personal role or experience. He had found it useful to talk to chief executive peers for support. And he talked positively of the support he received from the LGA. He also reflected on the importance of being very positive about the change given that change produces understandable fear and anxiety.  And personally, he would direct his support often where it was needed the most, helping members and officers with complex issues or relationships. And at times he worked as a ‘heatshield’ to protect officers or others; sometimes ‘you have to chuck yourself in the way’. And it could be enormously tiring for all, spotting where support is needed is important.

Chris reflected that he has ‘enormously enjoyed’ the challenge of being a chief executive leading and supporting such change.   And the change has been energising, ‘it feels quite a creative environment’. The journey is East Suffolk very much appears to have been led by a chief executive who works collaboratively with a coaching style alongside a similarly minded leader.

Chris Bally, chief executive
Email: [email protected]