Limited support for Southend-on-Sea

We do not currently provide detailed weekly summaries for Southend-on-Sea Council. Running the service is expensive, and we need to cover our costs.

You can still subscribe!

If you're a professional subscriber and need support for this council, get in touch with us at community@opencouncil.network and we can enable it for you.

If you're a resident, subscribe below and we'll start sending you updates when they're available. We're enabling councils rapidly across the UK in order of demand, so the more people who subscribe to your council, the sooner we'll be able to support it.

If you represent this council and would like to have it supported, please contact us at community@opencouncil.network.

AI Generated

Summary

The meeting primarily focused on procedural issues and the appointment of chairs and vice chairs for various committees. There was significant debate over a motion to defer the appointment of scrutiny chairs and vice chairs to a future meeting. The motion was eventually carried after a heated discussion.

  1. Motion to Defer Appointment of Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs: Councillor CUMMING proposed a motion to defer the appointment of scrutiny chairs and vice chairs to a reconvened annual meeting. This motion was debated extensively. Councillor Courtney and others argued against the motion, citing procedural concerns and the need for immediate appointments. Councillor CUMMING and his supporters argued that the current constitutional setup was not working and needed to be amended. The motion was eventually carried with 28 votes in favor and 19 against.

  2. Debate on Procedural Issues: There was confusion and disagreement over the procedural rules, particularly regarding whether the motion to defer could be debated before being voted on. Councillor Aylin and others expressed frustration over the lack of clarity and the perceived railroading of the motion. The monitoring officer clarified that the motion was procedurally proper.

  3. Personal Attacks and Accusations: The debate included several personal attacks and accusations. Councillor Nelson accused Councillor COWEN of wanting to ride roughshod over the constitution and described the situation as power and politics over principles and people. Councillor COWEN responded by accusing the opposition of using scrutiny to frustrate the council's work and stated that the new administration would fix the mess left by the previous one.

  4. Appointments and Withdrawals: After the motion to defer was carried, the council moved on to appoint chairs and vice chairs for other committees. Councillor Cox, the leader of the opposition, withdrew all Conservative nominations for outside bodies, which simplified the appointment process.

  5. Leader's Address: The new Leader of the Council, Councillor COWEN, addressed the council, outlining his vision for the administration. He emphasized the need for stability, financial prudence, and transparency. He also announced the scrapping of a cabinet post to save money and pledged not to close libraries, family centers, or dementia community support services.

  6. Council Calendar: The council agreed on the calendar of meetings for the municipal year 2024-2025, with amendments to the start times for Cabinet and Development Control Committee meetings.

Overall, the meeting was marked by procedural wrangling, personal attacks, and a focus on the future direction of the council under the new administration.

Attendees

Alan Richards
Claire Shuter
Colin Ansell
Susan Zeiss
Mark Harvey
Profile image for CouncillorStephen Habermel
CouncillorStephen Habermel  Conservative Party •  Chalkwell Ward
Profile image for CouncillorStephen Aylen
CouncillorStephen Aylen  Non-Aligned •  Belfairs Ward
Profile image for CouncillorMartin Berry
CouncillorMartin Berry  Non-Aligned •  St Lukes Ward
Profile image for CouncillorMargaret Borton
CouncillorMargaret Borton  Labour Party •  Victoria Ward
Profile image for CouncillorKevin Buck
CouncillorKevin Buck  Conservative Party •  Prittlewell Ward
Profile image for CouncillorLaurie Burton
CouncillorLaurie Burton  Cabinet Member for Children, Learning and SEND •  Labour Party •  Blenheim Park Ward
Profile image for CouncillorColin Campbell
CouncillorColin Campbell  Conservative Party •  Southchurch Ward
Profile image for CouncillorOwen Cartey
CouncillorOwen Cartey  Conservative Party •  West Leigh Ward
Profile image for CouncillorPaul Collins
CouncillorPaul Collins  Cabinet Member for Finance, Assets and Public Transport - Liberal Democrat Group Leader •  Liberal Democrats •  Eastwood Park Ward
Profile image for CouncillorJames Courtenay
CouncillorJames Courtenay  Leader of Conservative Group •  Conservative Party •  Chalkwell Ward
Profile image for CouncillorDaniel Cowan
CouncillorDaniel Cowan  Leader of the Council •  Labour & Co-operative Party •  St Laurence Ward
Profile image for CouncillorTony Cox
CouncillorTony Cox  Deputy Mayor - Leader of the Southend Reform UK Group •  Reform UK •  West Shoebury Ward
Profile image for CouncillorMeg Davidson
CouncillorMeg Davidson  Conservative Party •  Prittlewell Ward
Profile image for CouncillorAlan Dear
CouncillorAlan Dear  Conservative Party •  Belfairs Ward
Profile image for CouncillorMatt Dent
CouncillorMatt Dent  Cabinet Member for Business, Culture, Music and Tourism •  Labour & Co-operative Party •  Kursaal Ward
Profile image for CouncillorFay Evans
CouncillorFay Evans  Conservative Party •  West Leigh Ward
Profile image for CouncillorNigel Folkard
CouncillorNigel Folkard  Mayor •  Conservative Party •  Chalkwell Ward
Profile image for CouncillorDavid Garston
CouncillorDavid Garston  Conservative Party •  Prittlewell Ward
Profile image for CouncillorIan Gilbert
CouncillorIan Gilbert  Labour Party •  Victoria Ward
Profile image for CouncillorJohn Harland
CouncillorJohn Harland  Conservative Party •  West Shoebury Ward
Profile image for CouncillorLydia Hyde
CouncillorLydia Hyde  Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Waste •  Labour & Co-operative Party •  St Laurence Ward
Profile image for CouncillorAnne Jones
CouncillorAnne Jones  Deputy Leader - Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing •  Labour Party •  Westborough Ward
Profile image for CouncillorDarryl Jones
CouncillorDarryl Jones  Deputy Leader of the Southend Reform UK Group •  Reform UK •  Southchurch Ward
Profile image for CouncillorKevin Robinson
CouncillorKevin Robinson  Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Law and Governance •  Labour Party •  Westborough Ward
Robert Harris
Katie Gardner
Profile image for CouncillorStuart Allen
CouncillorStuart Allen  Green Party •  Leigh Ward
Profile image for CouncillorSusan Badger
CouncillorSusan Badger  Independent •  Thorpe Ward
Peter Bates
Joe Chesterton
Profile image for CouncillorMadison Faulkner-Hatt
CouncillorMadison Faulkner-Hatt  Labour Party •  St Laurence Ward
Profile image for CouncillorIrene Ferguson
CouncillorIrene Ferguson  Labour Party •  Kursaal Ward
Colin Gamble
Profile image for CouncillorSam Allen
CouncillorSam Allen  Labour Party •  Milton Ward
Adam Keating
Michael Marks
Profile image for CouncillorShahid Nadeem
CouncillorShahid Nadeem  Labour & Co-operative Party •  Blenheim Park Ward
Councillor Gabriel Leroy
Profile image for CouncillorJames Moyies
CouncillorJames Moyies  Conservative Party •  West Shoebury Ward
Profile image for CouncillorDave Poulton
CouncillorDave Poulton  Liberal Democrats •  Eastwood Park Ward
Profile image for CouncillorNick Ward
CouncillorNick Ward  Independent •  Shoeburyness Ward
Profile image for CouncillorCarole Mulroney
CouncillorCarole Mulroney  Liberal Democrats •  Leigh Ward
Profile image for CouncillorMaxine Sadza
CouncillorMaxine Sadza  Cabinet Member for Social Care and Healthier Communities •  Labour Party •  Milton Ward
Profile image for CouncillorJack Warren
CouncillorJack Warren  Conservative Party •  Belfairs Ward
Profile image for CouncillorDaniel Nelson
CouncillorDaniel Nelson  Conservative Party •  Southchurch Ward
Profile image for CouncillorCheryl Nevin
CouncillorCheryl Nevin  Labour Party •  Milton Ward
Profile image for CouncillorLesley Salter
CouncillorLesley Salter  Conservative Party •  West Leigh Ward
Profile image for CouncillorRichard Longstaff
CouncillorRichard Longstaff  Green Party •  Leigh Ward
Profile image for CouncillorJane Norman
CouncillorJane Norman  Labour Party •  St Lukes Ward
Profile image for CouncillorJudith McMahon
CouncillorJudith McMahon  Conservative Party •  Shoeburyness Ward
Profile image for CouncillorMandy O'Connor
CouncillorMandy O'Connor  Labour Party •  Victoria Ward
Profile image for CouncillorPamela Kinsella
CouncillorPamela Kinsella  Labour Party •  Westborough Ward
Profile image for CouncillorDonna Richardson
CouncillorDonna Richardson  Labour & Co-operative Party •  Blenheim Park Ward
Profile image for CouncillorSteven Wakefield
CouncillorSteven Wakefield  Independent Group Lead Spokesperson •  Independent •  Shoeburyness Ward
Profile image for CouncillorMartin Terry
CouncillorMartin Terry  Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services •  Independent •  Thorpe Ward
Profile image for CouncillorRobert McMullan
CouncillorRobert McMullan  Liberal Democrats •  Eastwood Park Ward
Profile image for CouncillorRon Woodley
CouncillorRon Woodley  Independent •  Thorpe Ward
Profile image for CouncillorKathy Murphy
CouncillorKathy Murphy  Non-Aligned •  St Lukes Ward

Topics

No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.

× Meeting image