THE Labour group leader on Hampshire County Council is stepping down at the election.
Josephine Kelly, ward member for Basingstoke Central, is retiring from local politics after 12 years as a county councillor.
She said: “I have done three terms. I am in my 60s and I hope some younger people will be coming up. The council needs a good mix of ages.”
During her time in the council chamber she has seen the number of Labour councillors drop from eight in 1997 to just four.
But Cllr Kelly said despite its small size the Labour group still managed to have some influence, for example persuading the ruling Conservatives to put an extra £300,000 in the library book budget in 2008. She said: “Being a very small group I think we can hold our heads up. We have been able to fight our corner.”
In previous years, the Labour group leader has won extra council funding for the youth service and a new drivers’ scheme.
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