BOLTON Council leader Cliff Morris has predicted a “difficult” time ahead for the authority after shuffling his cabinet pack following the election results.

Cllr Morris said he was pleased to see his party retain control of the council but has had to replace key councillors as the authority prepares to deal with the expected further austerity measures of the new Conservative government.

The major move in the new-look cabinet is for rising star of the party, 34-year-old Farnworth Councillor Asif Ibrahim, who is taking on the important role of cabinet member for Adult services, following predecessor Christopher Peacock’s election defeat.

Cllr Ibrahim, who works as a solicitor, will preside over an expanded role which now includes adult safeguarding.

Speaking about his new role, Cllr Ibrahim said: “I’m very excited to be taking up this challenging new role.

“I will give the job my all and will work extremely hard to make a difference for the people of this town.”

Cllr Morris said: “Asif is a very capable young man with a strong background in law, I am confident he will do very well in his new role.”

He added: “Overall I was pleased to retain control of the council, when you look at what happened on a national level, I think we did quite well.

“But we know it will be difficult going forward, austerity is not going away but the priority is that we continue to look after the most vulnerable children and adults in Bolton and that we create jobs.

Cllr Morris said he is pleased to be continuing as council leader, adding: “I have got the same passion for the job as ever.

“Obviously I know it is going to be harder but we are going to have to work with the government and do everything in our power to get the best possible deal for Bolton.”

Another important move sees the outgoing Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Martin Donaghy, replace Anthony Connell as the chair of the Licensing and Environmental Regulations Committee.

Mr Connell lost his Little Lever council seat to UKIP’s Sean Hornby after serving on the authority for 25 years.

Cllr Donaghy will also continue as the party’s chief whip, a position he carried out before his term as civic leader.

One notable departure from the cabinet is Rumworth Councillor Sufrana Bashir-Ismail, who exits her position as member for community services.

The key executive council positions remain the same, with Cllr Morris as leader, fellow Halliwell cllr Linda Thomas deputy leader and cllrs Nick Peel and Ebrahim Adia retaining their positions as heads of Environmental Services and Economy, Development and Regeneration, respectively.

Transport cabinet member Cllr David Chadwick will also take on an expanded role with responsibility for working on plans to share services with Wigan — an area which is being overseen by Cllr Peel as part of his expanded position.

The remaining make-up of the cabinet is: Cllr Anne Cunliffe (Public Health and Safeguarding Children), Cllr Kevin McKeon (Education and Schools), Cllr Akhtar Zaman (development and regeneration), Cllr Kate Lewis (Housing and Social Inclusion), Cllr John Byrne (Culture and Youth), Cllr David Chadwick (Highways, Transport and Community Services) and Cllr Derek Burrows (Neighbourhood services, Police and Community Safety.)