History has been made at Hampshire County Council following the election of a new group leader at an opposition party.

Cllr Kim Taylor has been elected leader of the county’s Labour Group with Cllr Jacky Tustain getting the nod as her deputy.

Cllr Taylor – who replaces Cllr Alex Crawford as the county head of the party – has spoken of her pride after winning the vote and becoming the first female leader of a political group at HCC.

The move coincides with changes at the top table, coming at the same time Cllr Rob Humby stepped down as HCC leader.

 “I am proud to be representing Labour in Hampshire,” said the member for Basingstoke Central.

“The group will continue its positive and proactive approach set by Alex Crawford, the previous leader.

“I will be seeking an early meeting with the new council leader to discuss service changes.”

Cllr Taylor said she will be “keeping up the pressure” to safeguard the interests of Hampshire’s residents and its most vulnerable in light of the £138million of cuts put forward early this year.

Decisions will be made in July on where savings will be made with highway services, homeless support and subsidised public transport among the 13 services facing a huge cut in funding.

Cllr Tustain said she will continue to work on the issues that matter most to residents and will push to ensure Hampshire delivers a “timely and quality service”.

She said: “The cost-of-living crisis has made life hard enough for many. 

“The risk of cuts to service will only compound problems and something she will continue to speak out against.”

 The Labour group would like to hear from the 1.4 million Hampshire residents about what they feel the priorities for the county should be. The survey can be found at www.hampshire.laboursites/the-big-survey