Council Leader to Stand Down

Councillor Jason Brock has announced his intention to stand down, both as the Leader of Reading Borough Council and as a Southcote ward Councillor, ahead of this May’s Local Borough Elections.

Councillor Brock was first elected as a Southcote ward Councillor in a by-election in 2016. He became Leader of the Council just under three years later, in May 2019. 

He will remain Leader of the Council up until the local elections, which take place in Reading on Thursday 2 May.

Explaining his decision to step down as Leader, and as a local ward representative, Councillor Brock said:

“It has been my huge honour and privilege to lead the Council in a town as wonderful as Reading, and to represent residents of Southcote. After a period of five years at the helm, however, this is the appropriate time to step aside and allow colleagues the opportunity to build on everything we have achieved together over the period.

“When I was fortunate enough to be selected as Leader in 2019, I privately maintained that roughly five years was probably the right amount of time, and that is something family and close friends were quick to remind me of as I considered the decision.

“I look back with immense pride on some of our achievements. It is also fair to say there have been some extremely challenging periods for Reading over the period and now feels like the right time for me to step aside, both for a much-needed rest and for a change in personal direction.  

“Reading’s response to the vast difficulties at the height of the pandemic, and to the attacks at Forbury Gardens in 2020, will always be at the forefront of my mind as an example of how a community can come together to find strength in moments of enormous adversity. To this day, I remain humbled at the town’s response. 

“The role of Council Leader afforded me the privilege of meeting and collaborating with the many communities, neighbourhoods, organisations, and individuals who make up the fabric of Reading. Together, they all help maintain a special sense of community, which is rare quality in a town that also wears its status as an economic giant so comfortably. At the risk of repeating myself, Reading remains a ‘little big town’, which is what truly sets it apart from others.

 "I have been incredibly lucky to work with so many exemplary councillors, and especially with two dedicated Deputy Leaders who, in different ways, have given their lives to public service. I remain proud that our committee-based system of Council governance sets us apart from others and means that debate and scrutiny – and sometimes even consensus with the opposition - is at the heart of our decision-making.

 “And while the economic climate and the cost-of-living continues to widen existing inequalities in our society, the Council’s direction of travel remains helping Reading to realise its potential while ensuring that everyone who lives and works here can share in the benefits of its success.

 “A new Group Leader will be elected at the Labour Group Annual General Meeting (AGM) after the May elections, and thereafter the Council will decide who is the Leader of the Council at its Annual Council Meeting.  I am confident that under new stewardship the town will continue to go from strength to strength.” 

In his five-year spell as Leader of the Council, Councillor Brock has overseen major investments in better facilities for residents. These include Reading’s biggest ever investment in road repairs; the largest Council house building programme in a generation; the modernisation of the town’s leisure facilities, including the construction of two brand new leisure centres; the opening of Reading’s first new railway station in 116 years at Green Park; and a continuation of progress towards a net zero Reading, with a 74% reduction in the Council’s own carbon emissions in just 14 years.

In the context of a cost-of-living crisis which is impacting on deprived communities the most, the Council has also maintained vital financial support for voluntary sector organisations in Reading, to help it reach and support communities and residents struggling with poverty and inequality.