Transcript

[ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] [ Silence ] We pray for Jeffrey and Martin wherever they may be. They may not have believed in God, but God may have believed in them. We give thanks for their service to this community and the years of dedication they invested in the work of this council. And we pray for all those who miss them and grieve for them. As they would wish us to, we recommit ourselves this evening to serving the people who've entrusted us with a role in this chamber. That we may serve them to the very best of our ability. We ask this in the name of the Lord, our God, Amen. [ Silence ] [ Silence ] If I consider that continuing to do so would prejudice the proceedings of the meeting. Members, please ensure you have switched off or to silence any devices you have that may interrupt the proceedings. This evening is an historic occasion for us as this council has never before made an award of honorary alderman. The occasion is tinged with sadness as the first recipients are no longer with us. But let's not just dwell on our sadness. Instead, we celebrate their long and distinguished service to this council and our borough. I am pleased to see Lo and Assign Mule here this evening to represent her husband, Jeffrey. I'm also very happy to welcome Emma Ellingorn and her partner, James. Emma is also here for her sister, Sarah, to represent their father, Martin Ellingorn. I now turn to our short agenda. Agenda item 1, declarations of interest. Does any member wish to declare any interest in the matter on the agenda? Agenda item 2, notice of motion. Award of honorary alderman to former councillors. I call on the leader of the Council, Councillor Roberts, to move the motion to honour Martin Ellingorn. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I do rise to move this motion and with your forbearance, I'll speak now if that's okay. It was always an intention by people within this chamber that both Martin and Jeffrey should receive some form of honour for their service to the borough. Unfortunately, we left it too late when Martin moved into this new term of administration, moved but put in place to get an official recognition from the Palace for both Jeffrey and for Martin. We were filling in the forms, sending in the right amounts of notes and queries and all of this. Unfortunately, they both left us far too early before they were able to be recognised for their service. So this is our way of giving them our recognition as a borough. You will see photos on the outside of this corridor here of mayors long since past that nobody remembers. You will see them listed on these boards behind us, all of these names from the past. A few people remember them, but we remember Martin and we remember Jeffrey and it's right that for their years of service on the council that they should have their own special commemoration within this chamber. Now, we would normally joke at this point that Martin would really have enjoyed this. But to be honest, I think that he would. Think about Martin, it was very self-effacing. He liked not to be the centre of attention, but at the same time, making sure that he was. And it was his likability, more than anything else, that made him the centre of attention. He would chat to anybody, talk to anybody, make time and give his advice whether we wanted the advice or not. He had 40 years of unbroken service. He would often tell people that he first was elected during the Falklands Walk. And this is true. So it is rare that you get somebody that will give that level of commitment to the borough. And he served as cabinet member for the environment, who served as an environment chair when we moved back to the committee system and then moving to the vice chair on the environment committee. And he was very much for all of us, not just an elder statesman, but also a walking, talking encyclopedia of planning, law and custom and practice. Which could be an invitation, particularly when I wanted to get things through, that he didn't want to get through, and when he wanted to block things, which we all thought was rather good and worthwhile having. So it is without hesitation that we should be looking to honour Martin in this particular fashion, and it will be fitting that for as long as we are all here, that his name, that is still very much remembered, not just by members of this chamber, but by people across the borough, will feature on the wall opposite, along with all of the people. Myself included, who will one day be long, long forgotten. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Roberts. I call on Councillor Needham Watts to second the motion. Thank you very much. Would you like me to say a few words, Martin Watts? Thank you very much. I do second this motion from the bottom of my heart, these two gentlemen who were instrumental in helping me towards a great understanding of my role as a councillor. In Geoffrey's case, his unfailing courtesy, his very proper approach to doing things, his insistence on clear language. And I realise that speaking without notes, as he would have done, I no doubt for short of his very high expectations. But I do think of him when writing a report or an email to cut out the unnecessary words and to focus on what is really important, which is what we should all do when we focus on our roles in council. As for Martin, he became a very dear friend as he led our environmental endeavours and I became first of all his assistant and then his vice chair on the Environment Committee. I still find myself thinking, I better ask Martin about this or about that and feeling both sorrow and, let's say, a certain amount of pride in the relationship that I had with him and my ability to learn from him, as I think he's no longer there. And I must find out answers for myself. And I hope he would think that we've not done too badly without him, although, of course, we would always benefit from his wisdom. So, without further ado, I second this motion. Thank you very much. Thank you. And I call on Councillor Roberts to move the motion to honour Geoffrey Samuel. Here we go. Thank you. Now, in short contrast, Geoffrey would have enjoyed this very much and show them every sign of doing it. Although I felt the chill presence of him in the chamber when he started three minutes late, Madam Mayor. Somebody who was first elected in the 1950s, sorry, and remained central to the Council 70 years later in the 2020s, surely deserves to be recognised for that length of service. It may not have been continual service, but nevertheless, it was service to the borough, all the same. And whether it was service through the education system or through his party work, or just generally by being a well-known and well-respected commentator on matters relating particularly to tricking them. He put service first before anything else. He had many roles within the Council, most notably as Deputy Leader, and as the lead member for Finance, and his ability to command a budget meeting was unsurpassed. And I say this in all confidence given that Councillor Brown is away at the moment. He had a real passion for this place, for this chamber. He was always in his element, even when he was the sole representative of the Conservatives in the last couple of years. In fact, I think that was probably his happiest time. Not having to answer to a leader, not having to tow a party line, being able to do and say precisely what he thought and do precisely what he wanted. And it gave me enormous pleasure to have been able to enjoy his friendship during the six years that I've spent as the leader of the Council. Like Martin, class act that will be sorely missed, even though at times, actually many times, we didn't agree on things, still the weight of wisdom and the weight of experience has stood this Council in good stead. With Martin and for Geoffrey, we are going to miss them. They will leave a huge gap in our collective and corporate knowledge, which will be difficult to fill, but we will fill it, because I think that we owe it to them. But it is right that he, along with Martin, one of his old friends, are both recognised by this Council proceeding. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Roberts. And I call on Councillor Fries to second the motion to honour Geoffrey Samuel. Thank you Madam Mayor. I will do my best to endeavour to hold up to Councillor Sampto, Geoffrey's legacy and speak without notes. I must admit, as one of his most impressive feats was to be able to stand up, have his five minutes, speak purely off the top of his head and end it perfectly to time. I was always in great admiration for him, as I am sure we all are, and it is a lesson I still have to learn, although I am devouring this evening. There is not much left, but I can add to what has already been said. He was a stickler for process, a stickler for routine, a stickler for punctuation as well, which I am very happy to try and adhere to. As a previous sub-editor, I do like an apostrophe in the right place, so I will do my best to ensure that we stick to that. I know that the Councillor, Councillor COOK, and Councillor, to Ren appreciated his sometimes a servica side, but to them as sitting on the opposition with him on the last term, but also the information and knowledge that he passed on to them, and to all of us, I am sure, who helped us to understand the Constitution, the regulations, the way we do things. He is missed for that, and I am not going to add more to it because we all know why he is missed in very different ways, but their public service is incalculable. The effect and impact they had over there nearly 100 years between them is something that we can only hope to allude to, so I am very, very happy to second this motion. I am also grateful to see that we are recognising them and bringing in the role of honoree older than I am not sure I am going to get there. I am sure others around this room will receive that accolade, and I am sure they will be inspired by both Martin and Geoffrey in order to do so. Thank you, Councillor Fries. I now invite Councillor to make these resolutions. Are the motions to admit Martin Ellingorn and Geoffrey Samuel as honoree olderman agreed? Agreed. Thank you. The motions are carried. The Chief Executive and I will now sign the documents to admit Martin Ellingorn and Geoffrey Samuel as honoree olderman. Members of Council, please look to your left to see our new board inscribed with their names. [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] My final duty in this meeting is to present some momentos this evening to Lona and Emma, which honour Geoffrey and Martin. [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] Thank you. Martin and Geoffrey will live long in our memory. Council, I think we have shown our appreciation and I think we can give another round of applause for the contributions of Martin Ellingorn and Geoffrey Samuel. [Applause] This concludes the business of our special meeting. Members of Council, please remain seated while my procession and guests leave the chamber. Our annual council meeting will start shortly after I return. [BLANK_AUDIO]