Following the 2007 local Elections I was elected by the Conservative Group to be their Leader.

As Leader of the Opposition a great deal of my time has been spent ensuring that the Conservative Group are a responsible, and credible opposition on the Council holding the controlling Labour Group to account for their activities for better or worse.

As Conservative Group Leader for the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority it became clear following the local election results in Greater Manchester that my Party would hold the balance of power in the Authority. To enable the smooth running of this important emergency service, the Conservative Group formed an agreement with Labour to control the affairs of the Authority, and I became Deputy Chair.

Together with these two important roles, I am a qualified Peer Councillor for the Local Government organisation, The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA). This enables me to carry out, if selected, inspections of other Local Authorities and share best practise.

I have attended regular advice surgeries throughout the year, and had an expanding casebook helping people with their problems.

Together with my two Ward colleagues, attended monthly meetings with the Police, Police Community Support Officers and Neighbourhood Patrollers to deal with community safety problems.