Pam Posnett reflects on the end of her long council career

Pam, who is 80, represented the town at County Hall for 16 years and she was also a Melton borough councillor for 20 years until deciding not to stand at the 2023 ballot.

She was one of the many victims as Reform UK transformed Leicestershire County Council earlier this month by winning 25 seats and overthrowing the long-term Conservative dominance of the authority.

Andrew Innes defeated Pam by 101 votes in Melton East as Reform UK won both of the Melton town seats.

Mr Innes generously lavished praise on Pam for the service she had given the community in his victory speech in St Mary’s Church.

And in her first interview since losing her county seat, Pam told the Melton Times: “That’s it for me now, I won’t stand again and I’m sure I will miss it.

"It was definitely a protest vote and national politics played a part, the way the results went.”

Pam would like to have seen her Tory colleague Deborah Taylor remain as acting leader of the county council as a steady hand at a time of major political change for the authority.

Instead, Reform UK group leader Dan Harrison, a former Conservative councillor, was elected as overall council leader.

“I do know Dan of old and I’ve heard some of the things he’s said about looking at the finances of the council,” commented Pam.

“He would like to get rid of the top layer of management at the council but you don’t just get rid of people in this day and age – everybody has employment rights.”

Pam was concerned about the toxicity of social media during the election campaign and she fears it will put some people off from standing in future.

“Social media was not a nice place to be during the elections – things were said about me that weren’t true,” she commented.

“Some people just can’t accept that someone doesn’t have the same opinion as them on certain issues.”

The county council and the district councils are likely to be abolished in two or three years time with the government committed to streamlining local government.

She does believe it will bring Council Tax bills down but she does feel there will need to be some form of community group or town council to reflect local opinion.

On her political beliefs, Pam added: “There is definitely a challenge ahead for the Conservatives.

“I grew up in a Labour area, in a mining district of Derbyshire.

“But I’ve always voted Conservative because one of their mantras is that if you really want something and you are prepared to work for it then you’ve always got a good chance of getting it. I’ve always gone by that motto.”

Pam, who has two children and four grandchildren, is looking forward to spending time with her family in the absence of council duties.

She continues to work with local groups such as Melton Mencap and Melton Belvoir Rotary Club.

Pam received the MBE in 2017, was Mayor of Melton in 2006 and played an instrumental part in the creation of Melton Country Park, Melton Learning Hub and the skatepark.