A county town is about to get its first Green Party council leader.

After an inconclusive election for Maidstone Borough Council at the start of the month, a deal has finally been reached.

The Green and Independent Alliance, which won 14 of the 49 seats, has signed an agreement with the Liberal Democrat group, which won 12 seats, to form a partnership to run the council for the next four years.

They will each have four posts in an eight-man cabinet.

Stuart Jeffery (Green) will be the council leader, with Clive English, leader of the Lib Dem group, as his deputy.

Exactly who the new cabinet members are and what their remit will be is going to be announced at the council’s annual meeting in the Town Hall tomorrow.

Cllr Jeffery said: “It will be an honour to lead the council.

“There is a huge amount of work to do to reduce inequalities, ensure there is enough social housing, to reduce pollution and ensure that the borough improves its resilience for the future.”

Cllr English said: “The challenge to overcome years of Conservative neglect of our borough is huge, but I am confident that together we will rise to the task of making Maidstone a place to be proud of.”

The new partnership promises to deliver a significant programme of change with a real focus on preparing for climate change, reducing pollution, making the community healthier and stronger, and delivering affordable housing, particularly social housing.

Cllr Jeffery’s appointment will bring the number of councils across the country with a Green Pary leader to 11.

Maidstone had been run by the Conservatives since 2021, before that it had been Lib Dem-controlled.

Cllr Jeffery has only been a councillor since May 2022 though he had probably fought more elections than most, both as a borough council and as a General Election candidate.

He has previously been announced as the Green Party’s candidate for Maidstone and Malling at the next General Election which must come later this year.

He confirmed that his new role as council leader would not alter his candidature.

Cllr Jeffery appeared on the Kent Politics Podcast last month.

Cllr English has been a borough councillor since 1994. He is also a member of three parish councils: Bearsted, Boxley and Detling.

The results of the last elections were Green Independent Alliance Group 14, Conservatives 13, Lib Dems 12, Labour six, Independent and Fant and Oakwood Group four.

It is understood that the Greens and Lib Dems had invited Labour to join their partnership, but that the local party had been prohibited from doing so by Labour’s head office.