The new leader of Solihull's Liberal Democrats has pledged her party will put its efforts into tackling local issues for residents.

Cllr Glenis Slater (Elmdon) has been selected to lead the council's third largest party following the shock defeat of group veteran John Windmill earlier this month.

Mr Windmill was the highest-profile casualty in the 17 seats up for election, losing in Olton by just 26 votes.

Speaking this week, his successor as group leader said: "I think mostly our group will be concentrating on serving our community.

"We're a small group at the moment ... we want to stand up and speak about what the council brings forward, particularly in terms of issues like education and children's services ... but I think also we want to deal with those local community issues."

Mr Windmill's departure, after many decades in the council chamber, leaves Cllr Slater as the Lib Dems' longest-serving member. First elected in 2008, she is the only one of the four remaining councillors who was on the local authority when it was run by a Lib-Lab coalition in 2010/11.

The year proved to be the party's high watermark, with the Tories regaining their overall majority after 12 months and the Lib Dems having since seen their group dramatically shrink in size.

Cllr Glenis Slater has been named as the new group leader of Solihull's Liberal Democrats.
Cllr Glenis Slater has been named as the new group leader of Solihull's Liberal Democrats.

Cllr Slater believes that focusing on the "year round" issues that worry local people - such as the recent uncertainty surrounding the future of groups based at the former Summerfield Education Centre - was an opportunity to win back support.

While conceding that all parties tended to put out leaflets promising action on niggles such as pot holes and littering, she hoped to show that her group was committed to dealing with grievances 12 months of the year.

"That is what the Lib Dems have always done," she said, noting that her fellow ward councillor, the newly-elected Laura McCarthy, had already made a name for herself focusing on community projects.

Cllr McCarthy, whose victory over the Conservative candidate was the one bright spot for local campaigners when ballot papers were totted up, has said she is confident that the party will "come back kicking" next year.

Glenis Slater factbox:

  • During her campaign to first get elected, Cllr Slater required emergency surgery after a dog bit her left hand while she was out leafleting in Old Lode Lane.
  • Her son Simon had also been a Lib Dem councillor, in Shirley West, but later crossed the floor to join the Labour Party. He stood down from council four years ago.
  • She previously served as the Mayor of Solihull, describing her term of office as one of the "busiest years of my life."