Doncaster Council: Outnumbered Labour can’t save Mayor Jones from ‘political football’ of no-confidence vote

The red of the Labour benches were severely outnumbered by a coalition sporting strips of turquoise and blue, but they fought hard.

It was a meaningless fight, the numbers against them meant they could never win – but the opposition captains were ruthless.

“The people of Doncaster were hoodwinked in May,” opened Reform UK leader Councillor Guy Aston.

It was his motion, which expressed the council have “no confidence” in the Labour Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones.

He accused Jones of misleading local voters over when passenger flights would return to Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Aston claimed, without evidence, that Jones and Labour knew before the May 2025 local elections that these flights would not be possible next spring.

It was drawn off of a Local Democracy Reporting Service interview with the South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, in which he revealed that the fact passenger flights were not likely until 2028 had been known for “a number of weeks”.

Sources close to Mayor Jones suggest they found out at the start of August 2025, but the damage had been done.

Aston moved that the council has no confidence in the mayor – a motion which, he acknowledged, has little statutory weight and cannot remove the mayor from office, nor curb her power.

When councillors woke up on Friday morning, it was exactly as before.

Labour councillors did their best to defend their long-serving team captain and did score with a few good shots.

Councillor James Church opened his speech with a sort-of sigh.

He said: “I think we’re all tired of the political football the airport has become.

“You’re wasting your own time, wasting our time, wasting valuable officer time with a motion that will do nothing.”

The deputy mayor, Cllr Glyn Jones, coined it a “cheap political stunt” and seemingly every other Labour member spoke in Mayor Jones’ defence accusing them of chasing “cheap headlines”.

But the opposition’s attackers were clinical, each with a unique style.

Cllr Jane Cox, Conservative for Finningley ward, spoke with a similar exasperation to Cllr Church, but her weariness was directed to Jones.

“[Mayor Jones] has misled our residents time and time again,” she said, “This town deserves the truth, Ros. Everybody deserves the truth.”

Cllr Steve Cox, Conservative Group leader, addressed the Labour benches with a brute-ish manner.

He slammed the mayor for accusing his party, and Reform, of playing politics with Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

“We haven’t been playing politics,” he said with seemingly genuine frustration.

He said if anyone had been, it was Labour.

Other contributions followed from a small number of Reform UK councillors, but most stayed silent and those who did speak did not wield the same effectiveness as the Cox’s or Aston.

In the end, the result shocked no one.

The chamber voted to support the motion 38 to 14, with a couple of abstaining councillors.

Yet, with all the drama, ire and tired minds as the debate stretched into the evening, the chamber seemed to be distracted by dreams of airplanes and holidays to sunny destinations.

This morning, people in Doncaster still struggle with the cost of living; still struggle with their cars bouncing into potholes; still deal with the numerous issues of everyday life.

So after Labour, Reform UK and the Tories argued for nearly an hour – who won?

Reform UK filed a motion with no impact, which they knew would change nothing for their residents, the Tories piled on.

Labour made an organised effort to speak for five minutes each about the importance of not “wasting time”.

Viewers might argue the most rational councillor ‘group’ in the chamber, who opted not to spend a second speaking on the motion, were the independents, of which there is one – Cllr Mark Broadhurst.

One WhatsApp from a former councillor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “What a load of nonsense.”