Ashley Baxter has retained his position as leader of South Kesteven District Council after councillors voted against a motion to remove him on Thursday, September 24. The vote was 27 against removal and 22 in favour.

Conservative group leader Sarah Trotter brought the motion, which sought Baxter's immediate removal from the office of Leader of the Council. Had it been carried, a new leader would have been elected at the same meeting.

Baxter, an Independent councillor for Market and West Deeping, has led the council since January 2024, when he was elected by 29 votes to 27, replacing fellow Independent Richard Cleaver from Stamford St John's.

Reasons for the challenge

The Conservative group cited several issues in their motion. One was a council tax error in summer when August direct debit payments were taken from some residents' bank accounts on Wednesday, July 29, instead of the scheduled Monday, August 3. The council apologised and said no one would be financially disadvantaged, offering to repay any bank fees or overdraft charges caused by the error. Conservatives criticised Baxter's communication with residents about the mistake.

A second reason was an incident at the Local Government Association's annual conference in Bournemouth in July. Baxter was asked to leave after entering a closed session for Reform UK councillors. He apologised, saying he had not realised it was a private meeting, but the Conservative group called it "a failure of judgement".

The group also criticised Baxter for writing to the Secretary of State about local government reorganisation on behalf of the council without consulting other councillors.

Context: reorganisation debate

Local government reorganisation has been a significant issue for South Kesteven this year. The Government had selected a two-council model for Lincolnshire, under which South Kesteven was due to become part of a larger council in April 2028. South Kesteven and North Kesteven jointly proposed a four-council model as an alternative. On September 3, SKDC's Cabinet approved the first steps towards a legal challenge. Days later, the Government paused reorganisation in Lincolnshire and several other areas while reviewing the programme. No new date has been set.