Transcript

Please be seated. Good evening and welcome to the annual meeting of the Council. Before we start, I would like to call on my faith leader, Mr. Tawha Qureshi, MBE, to say a few words. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. In the name of the Most Gracious, Most Merciful. We are blessed and blessed to be the Messenger of the Messenger. Thank you very much, Lord. We have given up. Surah Al-Fatihah Surah Al-Fatihah He says,

in Lambert, Siddharth, and Croydon, but no tenant in Wandsworth at this stage. Hopefully that will grow in near future. And I would extend my final message that God Almighty has created us from Adam and Eve. No matter what color, what denomination we are, what faith we are, we are from one parent, one pair, Adam and Eve. And if we have love and caring and tender approach with one another, society will be really, really positive, and it will give more fruit. There are many, many resources available. Instead of having wars and hate against one another, if we work together, we can extract all those resources that are available instead of destroying them. May God Almighty bless all of us. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gauraci, for your words. Now, I would call on the leader of the council, Councillor Hogg. He will say a few words, followed by the leader of the opposition, Councillor Richard Jones. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'm really pleased to say a few words about our outgoing mayor and about the role of the mayor in civic life, because from councillor to deputy mayor to mayor, Sana, you've been at the heart of our community, you know, celebrating and supporting and uniting the people of Wandsworth. Madam Mayor has been busy. I know she joined several of the brilliant street parties held across Wandsworth to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day and danced along to Strictly Wandsworth, the first major event of our year as borough of culture, welcoming nearly 3,000 people to Battersea Park. The mayor also proudly supported the opening of our new Tooting Family Hub, welcomed His Majesty the King during his visit to Battersea Power Station and brought our communities together by hosting Wandsworth's interfaith forum. And it was in that interfaith forum that I really saw the care and the attention that Sana gives people, showing really deep sensitivity in quite difficult conversations with religious leaders, faith leaders at moments of real tension in the world. And Sana made a really important contribution that not everyone saw towards harmony, bringing harmony to our strong, diverse communities and showing once again that we can and we do live together in tolerance and peace, sharing the challenges that we all face together. Because Sana is a great listener and she has helped to make this a listening council, this administration has been focused on delivering for our residents. Over the past year, we've frozen council tax, we've doubled investment in our roads and pavements and collected more than 7,000 free bulky waste bookings. We've set up access for all and we've launched our seven rings, seven days guarantee. So if you don't know, if you phone up the main number at the council, a member of staff will pick up the phone in seven rings and if you tell us about a dangerous pothole or some graffiti or a broken street sign, we will fix it in seven days because we are at your service. And as part of our commitment to being a listening council, we've been organising more community drop-ins, we've been getting out into the community but we've also been welcoming more of you than ever before into the town hall to make sure that everyone can be heard in our decision making. And the mayor has been at the heart of this, bringing our town hall to life by hosting groups of school children and giving them a hands-on introduction to our democracy. It was lovely to see children from All-Farthing, Honeywell, Furs Down, Garret Park and St Mary's in the town hall. They take part in fun and educational treasure hunts throughout the building using this booklet. Well, actually, should we do some questions? So, are you smarter than a primary school child? So, what river is the borough named after? Wondal, correct, Councillor App? Should we get that one? Oh, no. All right, this is ridiculous. What's the motto under our crest? We serve. Everyone gets the points there. And finally, this is a more difficult one. Which of our mayors has a commemorative stamp? So, who is on a first-class stamp? John Archer, who in 1913 became the first black mayor in London, a landmark achievement. And these school children also take part in lively debates here in the town hall. The opposition here may not agree with it, but I'm pleased to say that not a single child has thrown a tantrum and stormed out of the chamber before the debate even started. So, that's good news. We love our local charities. It's great to see so many here tonight. I hope we get a chance to have a conversation later. And throughout her time as mayor, Sana has raised about £50,000. Can this be right? £50,000. APPLAUSE For her three fantastic charities. So, Home Start Wandsworth, Rackets Cubed, and Tootin Community Kitchen. Now, I know she'll tell us more about those later, but I wonder if you can show your appreciation for those wonderful organisations. So, thanks for having me. So, the mayor has been an incredible friend to our voluntary sector, and I know that our MPs, Fleur and Marsha and Resenna are as well. And just to say, we recently opened up a whole wing of the town hall for the voluntary sector to use. So, if your organisation, you know, is looking for space, we'd love for you to come and work here, cooperate more closely with us, and it's free until the end of the year. So, please come and see us if you'd like to work with us in the town hall. And can I encourage everyone to donate to those mayoral charities? Because I think not everyone knows, but the council will match fund your donation. So, if you give £10, we'll give £10 as well, and that's up to a maximum of £50,000 a year from our side, because we really want to encourage you to give to those excellent mayoral charities. Let me also just thank Councillor Finner Ayres, Deputy Mayor, for her year of service, from championing local businesses at Business Launchpad and Tooting Works to celebrating the achievements of our schoolchildren and visiting cadets in Battersea and Southfields. We are as grateful for your dedication to Wandsworth as we are baffled by your devotion to Chelsea Football Club. There's just no helping some people, but can we all thank Finner? Thank you very much. And last year, we tried something new. For the first time ever, our young people proudly elected Millie as Wandsworth's first-ever youth mayor and Favour as our deputy youth mayor, and they have done us proud. Have we got some time? From visiting Chantel's community kitchen in Roehampton to Hazelfest Community Festival in Tooting and the big local SW11 in Battersea, Millie and Favour have taken on the role with confidence and commitment. A huge thanks to both of you for giving our young people a voice. And I must say it's been fantastic to have four incredible, inspirational, ones worth women in those top positions, showing true pride in our vibrant and diverse community. And I'd like to add my welcome to our new youth mayor, Kwasi, and deputy youth mayor, Sophia. There they are. And I understand, Sophia, you had an exam today. Yeah, I had one this morning. How did that go? It was politics. So it seems... Excellent, getting your revision in afterwards. But, I mean, that's real pressure, right? But also a reminder that, you know, the real achievements in Wandsworth this year weren't political achievements or policy announcements or anything. It's just those small wins people have every day. So Sophia smashing her politics exam, you know, Rebecca going under 25 minutes at Park Run, Saeeda waving her son off to university, John watching his daughter getting a laugh in the school primary play, Harry perfecting his Italian chopped salad, and Luke getting to watch Crystal Palace win the FA Cup with his dad. So we are lucky to have those small moments, because we all know that there's people all around the world who are not fortunate enough to experience those simple pleasures that we can here in Wandsworth. And it also reminds us politicians that we are servants of the people. We're here to listen to you and to help you live the life you want for yourself. Because there are things that you can't do alone and you'll need help from your friends. And the things that you can't get done in the community, we will support you as the council. We want a Wandsworth where people look out for each other, where you have control over your own life, and where we build strong communities and a powerful voluntary sector to support you. And when you need us, Wandsworth will be there as a truly efficient and effective council. I'll just finish by saying the Wandsworth Mayor embodies and reinforces those beliefs. She brings us together and strengthens our community. I'd now like to present a certificate on behalf of the people of Wandsworth and thank Sarno Jaffrey for her service, because I'm just so grateful for the amazing contribution Sarno has made to civic life in her year as Mayor. Thank you so much. APPLAUSE Thank you, Councillor Hock, for the lovely words. If I could call on Councillor Richard Jones. Well, thank you, Madam Mayor, very much. And can I start by just sharing in some of the remarks that the leader made about you and to thank you and your deputy for all the service that you've both given over the last year. It's not the easiest of roles, I'm sure all mayors would acknowledge, but perhaps hardest in the chamber and perhaps easier outside the chamber. But I know you've always given your absolute best to the role. I know in particular you were commended for the way you presided over citizenship ceremonies, your activity in the community, where you invariably always brought the sun whenever you turned up. The annual council meeting is a chance to look back on the year that it's been, to look forward to the year ahead and to reflect for a moment away from the swing of political life. But I thought this annual meeting could be a chance to look back a little bit further than that because we actually celebrate a very important birthday today, a really important Wandsworth institution turns 60 today. No, it's not Pizza Express, although they are turning 60 today. It's actually Wandsworth Borough Council. So in 1965, previous mayors and previous councillors of the old metropolitan boroughs of Battersea and Wandsworth were holding their last meetings. And around about today, the new mayor and the new councillors of Wandsworth Borough Council, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, would have met in this meeting for the inaugural meeting of Wandsworth Borough Council. And what a 60 years that has been. It has, and I don't, I mean, I'm 36, you don't need me to recite what's happened in the last 60 years. But other people in this room will recognise just how much the borough has transformed in those 60 years. The ward that I'm privileged to represent, Northcote, that has gone from a ward of the street market, of the factory workers that Nell Dunn wrote about in Up the Junction, to an area that estate agents still call now Nappy Valley, or Between the Commons, or some other synecdoche. But elsewhere in the borough, former industrial land has now given away to new, thriving, diverse communities. And it's hard to, I think, understate in Wandsworth the role the council actually played in that. Because if you think about the council, the term the council is often not very used in a very flattering way. You know, we talk about why haven't the council collected the bins this week? Or have you spoken to the council about planning permission? But I think we can all say in this room that Wandsworth Council, I think, has done more to shape the very fabric of our borough than possibly any other local authority in the country. Much, much older colleagues than me, might remember this absolute eccentric scheme in the 60s and 70s called the ringways. You know, when the Greater London Council wanted to build these huge motorways going through all of London. Ringways No. 2, which was opposed by an alliance of conservative and Labour councillors, would have literally come right through the borough and would have destroyed in its wake so much of the borough that we recognise today. And in so many other aspects, the fabric of the borough shows the work that councillors have done. So whether it was the Radical Labour Council in the 60s and 70s that built council housing, and we see the Doddington and Rollo estates today, to the work of the last Conservative Council that restored and brought back to life and reimagined the iconic Battersea Power Station. Now, the AGM is a civic occasion. It's not the place to litigate the rights and wrongs of all those decisions. And, you know, we'll do that in the chamber later. But I think both sides would agree with the power and importance of local government. It's more than just collecting the bins. It's more than just sweeping the streets. But it really does shape the lives of our residents. And I think in a time when perhaps the stock of politicians nationally perhaps isn't what perhaps we'd like it to be, I think local government, which is the closest layer of government to people's lives, I think does have a special role to play. And I think all of us in this room, I think, would appreciate, would acknowledge that it's an arena where perhaps we can stand quite tall. I think that's why we spend all the time in the chamber. We spend evenings evenings, knocking on doors in community halls, replying to that last casework email about one o'clock in the morning because we recognise the role is a privilege, it's important, and it's impactful. Now, 60 years of Wands of Council also means 60 years of Mayors. And I want to take this point now to look to the future because, of course, the best Mayors are always asked to do an encore. And later, we are going to be delighted to welcome Councillor Jeremy Ambash to his encore when he becomes, when he takes up his second stint as the mayor of this borough. Jeremy Ambash, a mayor so good they appointed him twice. As the leader has already said, there's a special magic about the role of the mayor. It's to be above party politics and it's the borough's first citizen. It's the dignified aspect of our council and they chair rather than participate in our meetings. And I know that Councillor Ambash has a deep commitment to the non-partisan role of mayor and the power and the dignity of the office of mayor. That's no more evident in his very generous offer to restore the tradition of offering the deputy mayorship to a member of the opposing party. And we know that in that role Councillor Rosemary Birchall is really going to do us proud. Now my last duty as leader of the opposition before I sit down now is that I have to say something at Councillor Ambash's expense because there'll be lovely tributes afterwards so I've just got to get in a few digs whilst I can and you're all paying attention. Now this part is really hard. It's really hard because trying to dig up dirt about this man is nigh on impossible. I mean I really asked everybody. Finally in my desperation I asked Councillor Fraser and I said I need something embarrassing and funny about Councillor Ambash. What can I say this evening? Straight out the block Councillor Fraser said well he used to be a Lib Dem. And I said well that's not funny. Embarrassing perhaps but not funny but Jeremy we all know about your sordid past and we have long forgiven you for that. But I pressed Councillor Fraser and I said come on I need something funny. I went round the stage and she said well he likes cycling. I said come on I need something funny. She said well he plays tennis and he swims most days in Putney. I said Claire these really aren't funny. And she said yeah he's just not that funny. But we know that's not true. We know the Councillor Ambash has a wonderful sense of humour and my goodness you need it to do some of the role of mayor and to preside over our proceedings in the town hall. I know it's going to be a wonderful year for you Jeremy particularly in an election year where things the temperature may get higher than it usually does but I know you'll bring your usual judgement calm and presence to those meetings. So Jeremy thank you so much. Councillor Jaffrey thank you so much and I'll see you back on the doorstep. Thank you Councillor Hogg and Councillor Richard Jones for them kind words. Good evening again distinguished guests so welcome to tonight's meeting my final one serving as the mayor of Wandsworth. Later this evening we will decide on the selection of the mayor elect who will then continue with the completion of the meeting. Tonight we also take a moment to celebrate the contributions of the youth mayoralty in Wandsworth. A testament to the energy passion and promise of our young people. It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as the mayor of this remarkable borough. I stand before you filled with gratitude for the privilege of representing Wandsworth and for the unwavering support of so many of you. I want to thank everyone who has been part of this journey. I've made friendships I will cherish for a lifetime. To those closest to me my parents who have always loved and cared for me my siblings Fatima Sabrina and Aliraza thank you for being my strength and to my wonderful children Zoya and Abbas your patience and support this year your patience and support this past year has meant the world to me. Your sacrifices have not gone unnoticed. You are everything I could ever hope for in my children. A heartful thank you to Councillor Paul White who nominated me for this role. Your mentorship and friendship over the past three years has been invaluable. To the Deputy Mayor Councillor Finna Ayres thank you for your unbevoring support and commitment to the borough. It has been a privilege working alongside you. I also want to recognise the incredible work of the Youth Mayor Millie Quinn and Youth Deputy Mayor Faye Varnoreen. You have both served our borough with such dedication and spirit. Thank you. Throughout my mayoral year I focused on a theme that I hold close to my heart. Hope. Hope for the best for Wandsworth and its people. I committed myself wholeheartedly to this borough and its communities. The love and well wishes I have received throughout the year have been humbling and deeply moving. Today I stepped down as not only the first Muslim and first South Asian Mayor of Wandsworth but also its youngest. I do so with pride with joy and with hope for the future. As I retire from my role I leave with immense appreciation for many people who keep Wandsworth thriving. So the council team councillors officers all the staff at Frogmore and Tadmore who nobody remembers. Miss Anne who welcomes everyone into the town hall with warmth and a smile. Connor and the entire FM staff thank you for all that you do. Pat Batista from the Mayor's office as well as the rest of the Mayority and Pat it is Pat's last day today as well. Our amazing charities and voluntary sector organisations your work changes lives and your impact is felt throughout the borough. Thank you. This year has been historic. We celebrated Wandsworth selection as a London Borough of Culture 2025. It's recognition as a borough of sanctuary and its 60th anniversary. We even had the honour of welcoming His Majesty King Charles. When asked about the highlights of my year I often reflect on many visits to local schools. I hosted tours, debates and question times. These visits gave young people the opportunity to see local government in action and some even felt left feeling inspired. Visiting my old school Burntwood and hearing from students who felt empowered by my journey was particularly meaningful. The deputy lieutenants and I also had the pleasure of visiting our Burroughs cadet units. The deputy mayor and myself, we try to encourage young leaders for tomorrow. A short thank you goes to the deputy lieutenants for representing his majesty and attending civic ceremonies with such grace. One touching moment I won't forget was assisting Kelly on a shopping trip with help from Wandsworth Community Transport Team. A small act that reminded me how service comes in many forms. I am proud to share that over the year we raised over £103,000. So this is including the price the match fund of £50,000. So this is amazing. My three mayoral chosen charities were Homestart Wandsworth, Rackets Cubed and Tooting Community Kitchen. Thank you for your incredible work you do. I know you will continue to make a difference in our community. To the mayor-elect and deputy mayor-elect I wish you every success in the year ahead. May your time in office be as rewarding and impactful as ours has been. Thank you Wandsworth for this extraordinary opportunity. I will carry this experience with me always. The past year has truly changed my life. Thank you. So I'm going to move on to the actual substance of the meeting. So item agenda number one is the election of the mayor. The first business on the agenda is the election of mayor. May I have nominations for the office of mayor for the ensuing year. Thank you Councillor Boswell. Can everybody hear me nice and clearly even at the back? Okay. Thank you Councillor and thank you for your very moving speech but now we move to next year. I was delighted when Jeremy asked me to propose him for mayor this time. I first met Jeremy over a decade ago. He was and still is a whirlwind of energy and action. The action back then was to get me selected as the parliamentary candidate for Putney. As he drove me around the constituency in his car knocking on doors of Labour Party members and getting them to vote for me which they duly did I knew that I had one of the best activists in town on my side. But in the end it was of course a hopeless cause. We were up against Justin Greening a really excellent MP. But in true Jeremy style he harnessed the energy created and in between playing tennis became a councillor himself for Roehampton ward for postal votes. Lots and lots of them. Now Jeremy and I share a connection to a well-known school which I have lots of family who were pupils there. Beedales in Hampshire. Educational historians will know Beedales was the first set up back in 1893. Jeremy wasn't a pupil then back in 1983. It was set up by J.H. Baddeley as a humane alternative to authoritarian regimes of late Victorian public schools. Pioneering at the turn of the 20th century a whole child holistic approach to education. Academic learning and sports and physical progress was equally encouraged alongside developing their emotional well-being. It was quite extraordinary for that time. It's a school where pupils called teachers by their first name, no uniform was worn, no particular religion was followed, nobody was judged by their sexual orientation, where they came from, how they looked or how they spoke. Back in the late 1950s and early 60s when Jeremy was there, this ethos of inclusivity was very unusual. And I think it helps explain Jeremy and why he made a wonderful time round and will make an even better one this time. The charities he has chosen, Wandsworth Supports Refugees, Wandsworth Oasis and Mineworks UK reflect this and his view of the world and his commitment to equality. It also helps explain why when I asked the wonderful staff in the mayor's office to pick out something about Jeremy as mayor last time, they said he was the best mayor we've ever had. Although maybe they say that about all our wonderful mayors. I am delighted to have been asked to propose Jeremy and hope you will all support him in his second term in office as the mayor of this fantastic borough. thank you councillor Boswell. Is there any seconder? councillor Henderson, please come to the lectern. Thank you. before you commence, I understand you both wished to say a few words in support of your nomination, so over to you councillor Henderson. Thank you madam mayor. First of all, it's a tremendous honour to be asked to second Jeremy's nomination, someone I regard as a friend and an excellent colleague. As you've heard, this is the second time that Jeremy has been nominated for the mayor. I mean, as councillor Richard Jones said, he did such a good job the first time round that we had to invite him back for a second bite of the cherry. But that was because of his tremendous commitment. He, like councillor Geoffrey, raised an enormous amount of money for his chosen charities. I mean, his energy was unbelievable. And uniquely, it may not necessarily be regarded by Jeremy as one of its highest points, but he's actually the first mayor for 70 years to read a proclamation on the king's accession to the throne. It's a unique achievement, which I'm sure you'll always remember, standing on the steps of the town hall, etc. But as has been said, Jeremy has this tremendous energy. Before most of us have even contemplated having breakfast, Jeremy would have either played a game of tennis or he would have gone swimming. And that is reflected very much in how he approached the job last time, and I'm sure this coming year. I mean, tennis has always been a very major part of Jeremy's life. He plays at the tennis club, much more illustrious than the one down the road in Wimbledon, one of his charity fundraising events was actually a tennis tournament. Now, he assures me he didn't actually win it, but apparently he beat everyone else. So you can draw your own conclusion from that. And what a nice thing to do to organise a tournament that you effectively star in yourself. But that isn't actually Jeremy, who just has this tremendous lot of tennis. And I suspect that if Jeremy does have one regret in life, it's that he never actually played in Wimbledon championships. I'm sure you would love to have done that. But Jeremy also brought this incredibly unique and refreshing approach to the Maori, doing things in a very different way to the way things had been done in the past. He introduced a period of reflection at the start of all four council meetings where councillors actually thought, kept quiet on the issues that they were due to consider. He is, as I said, a very active cyclist and I think probably one of the very few if only men to actually cycle to the events at which he officiated at. Of course, he couldn't actually travel with an earl chain. They had to be transported separately for insurance purposes. But it was great on so many occasions to see Jeremy turning up at these events, not in but actually on bike. Every time I went to a different event that Jeremy was officiating at, he seemed to have a different consort. Now, in some quarters, that may be viewed with a certain degree of suspicion. But in fact, this is very much part of what Jeremy wanted to do. He wanted to bring the minority alive to the residents of this great borough. So, he had a variety of different consuls, councillors, people from charities, particularly his nominated charities, and from members of the public. And that, I think, reflected the vast breadth of support there was for his minority and what he was actually trying to do. He is very much part of the public community. He has lived there for a very considerable amount of time. But he has done tremendous work across the entire borough. His background was in local government. I mean, he basically sort of breathed and lived local government. He became a very senior officer in local governments specialising in social care. And I can send a personal thanks to him for mentoring me on social care issues when Jeremy and I served together as a joint opposition spokespeople on adult social care and public health. So thank you, Jeremy. That was extremely helpful. As Councillor Richard Jones, at one point, Alid, I thought he was stealing my speech. But he referred to the fact that when he gave up his role as local government officer, he was able to be active in politics and he joined the Liberal Democrats. Now, I think all this really demonstrates that even the best of us make mistakes during the course of our lives. that is forgivable. I'm also his nomination for deputy man, and I wasn't going to say anything, but congratulations Councillor Burgell. But that does very much reflect Jeremy's approach to politics and local government. The fact that councillors of all political parties should come together and work together for the betterment of our society and to improve the lives of ones with residents. I have to say, Rosemary, that you're going to have to expend an enormous amount of energy over the next year just simply keeping up with Jeremy. Finally, I'm sure Jeremy, Jeremy's daughters probably find him incredibly exhausting at a time when they tell him to slow down, to take things easy. What hope is that? But that is precisely why Jeremy will make an excellent mayor second time around. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Boswell and Councillor Henderson. Are there any other nominations? Okay. I submit the name of Councillor Jeremy Ambash to the meeting. Those councillors in favour, please raise your hands. Those against? Any abstentions? I hereby declare that Councillor Jeremy Ambash is duly elected mayor of the London Borough of Warnsworth for the ensuing year. Councillor Ambash, you have been elected to the office of mayor. Do you accept this office? Yes, I do. Councillor Ambash, will you please read aloud and sign the declaration of acceptance of office which is on the lectern? Good. Just arrive in time. I, Councillor Jeremy Ambash, having been elected to the office of mayor of the council of the London Borough of Warnsworth, declare that I take that office upon myself and would duly and faithfully fulfil the duties of it according to the best of my judgment and ability. councillor councillor, oh, shall I sign it? Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you and congratulations councillor Ambash and congratulations on your deputy mayor or role, councillor Birchall. I invite the mayor, councillor, Ambash to retire with me for the purpose of robing. Please be seated. Deputy left talent Colleen Harris, councillors, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. It means a lot to me that you are here tonight for our mayor-making evening. After all, you chose to be here and you're missing out on the football Europa League final tonight. thank you councillors for electing me. The first time I was mayor, my oldest daughter Zoe accompanied me. So to demonstrate my commitment to fairness in the family, you'll see I've asked my younger daughter Lucy to sit on the stage. I couldn't have done too badly first time round to be brought back for a second term. Is it because I wear the mayoral jewels so well? More seriously, when I joined the council in 2014, I never expected to be mayor. To take on this role for the second time is a huge honour and responsibility. We move to item two, appointment of the deputy mayor. Councillors, moving to item two on the agenda, I have appointed councillor Rosemary Birchall to be deputy mayor for the borough. I know we will work well together and that Rosemary will do an excellent job and her husband Richard Birchall will be her consort. item three, the minutes. The minutes of the meeting held on the 5th of March 2025 have been circulated. Is it agreed that I sign them as a correct record? Agreed. Thank you, councillors. Item four is the mayor's announcements. First we go to apologies for absence. They have been received from councillor Austin, councillor Cook, councillor Peter Graham, Justin, Owens and Varatharaj. And apologies for lateness from councillor Cooper. Are there any other apologies of absence? councillor marshall. councillor marshall, thank you. No other apologies. Okay. So thanks and congratulations to the outgoing mayor and the deputy mayor, councillor Sanna Jaffrey and councillor Finna Ayres, who have done a fantastic job throughout the last mayoral year. councillor Sanna Jaffrey did all her duties with great dignity, warmth, empathy, love and compassion. I know that councillor Jaffrey has a special connection with children generally and particularly with children who have special needs. councillor Finna Ayres provided amazing indefatigable support and encouragement. She is a great role model for someone in her early eighties. And thank you to last year's youth mayor, Millie Quinn, who can't be here, and the deputy youth mayor, Favell Honoré, who is here. Millie has asked me to express her thanks and to say she was honoured to serve as Wandsworth's first ever youth mayor. The experience has deepened her commitment to representing and championing the voice of young people across the borough, and she wishes the new youth mayor every success in making a difference and inspiring generations. Favell highlighted speaking in front of thousands of people at Battersea Park fireworks display as a particular highlight, and she has asked me to express her thanks for being given the opportunity to champion and voice young people in Wandsworth. So the new youth mayor who was elected on Monday or Tuesday this week, Quasi Akram Konachi, and the deputy youth mayor is Sophia Dyson. They've been elected by the youth council. Congratulations to both of you. The deputy mayor and I look forward to working with you over the year to help you retrieve strong voices from young people you represent, and the council listens to your views and suggestions, and that you really make a difference, and it was great to meet you just before the meeting tonight. Congratulations. A few personal things about me that may be relevant to add to what my proposer and second has said to embarrass me. I had surgery and a new knee last year, and I'm still in physiotherapy rehabilitation at Queen Mary's Hospital, which is fantastic, but I'm making good progress, and just back on my bike and on the tennis court. That's good, because it would be nice to get Councillor Hogg out on the tennis court again, and maybe have a mayoral charity match between the two main parties. I hope that Councillor Richards-Jones can be persuaded to play. I'm still missing Anne, my wife, who died five years ago. Some of you who know her well are here tonight. She would have had mixed feelings about my political involvement and activities. So, even my oldest granddaughter was thinking of studying politics at university, but after observing me and other councillors on the finance committee, she decided against this. councillors may need to reflect on the example we set the next generation. Unfortunately, Eva can't be here tonight to feed back her observations as she's in the middle of her A-levels at the moment. Many of you know from my last mayoral year that I'm a person with no religious faith, so I won't be appointing a chaplain or a faith leader. However, I continue to be impressed by many faith groups and what they do to support and build a strong and inclusive community, and I thank them for all they do. I learned so much about the community the first time I was mayor. I'm looking forward to learning more this time. I want to tell you four things that I'm seeking to achieve over the year, working with the deputy mayor. I hope our council meetings can model good behaviour whilst having vigorous political debates. Secondly, I hope to celebrate Ida Vast Couchers in our year as London Borough of Coucher. Now, through my door, I just received this programme, which is the Wandsworth Art Fringe in June. It's coming up. Do come along and get involved. And Anna Popovici asked me, the deputy chief executive, to remind you, you can all get involved in terms of volunteering, in terms of the borough of culture. Involvement in events, involvement supporting events, et cetera. Thirdly, I hope we can become more inclusive, welcoming those who are most disadvantages and marginalised to be included. and fourthly, I hope we can develop more active lifestyles and travel more on foot, on scooters and on bicycles. If we achieve these four, I'll be delighted. Just a little bit about council meetings. I'm planning at the start of council meetings to have people of faith and people without faith sharing what I hope will be inspiring thoughts. Councillors, I hope, will benefit from wise thoughts and some inspiration before our council meetings. I hope that we can have robust debates in our council meetings while treating each other with courtesy and respect. A few thanks, first to council staff across the council, for all you do every day. I would ask our deputy chief exec, Anna Popovici, to convey to our council staff huge and heartfelt thanks. for all you do for our community. The council cherishes our staff as they are our most vital resource to deliver for the people of Wandsworth. I'd like to add a special thank you to Pat Batista, who works in the mayor's office, and it's her last day of service today, as been said. Thank you. Pat, Pat, Pat, just stay there a sec. You've advised and guided the last 13 mayors over the 36 years that you've been working brilliantly for the council. Thank you and congratulations. Thank you. I'm proposing three mayoral charities support and raise funds. They are Wandsworth Welcomes refugees who started working with the council and others to make Wandsworth welcoming and supportive of refugees. We're pleased to have received Borough of Sanctuary status as a council, but there is more to do on this journey, becoming refugee friendly. Secondly, Wandsworth Oasis, which runs charity shops that refreshes and repurposes goods. This charity funds projects that support those with HIV AIDS. And third charity is Mindwatch UK, is based in tooting and offers counselling, psychotherapy and training for refugees and asylum seekers who have experienced traumas. They provide counselling in nine different languages. To identify representatives to these charities, please can the following stand up and wave so that you can see who they are and use the time after the formal part of the meeting to get to know them. Mary Hargreaves and Kerry Sedgwick from Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees. Where are you? Raywan Jones from Wandsworth Oasis. And Sahar Begg from Mindworks. They're all over there. Do have a chat with any of them if you want to find out more about what they do. I also want to support other emerging voluntary groups, not-for-profit organisations, newly established charities. I hope the deputy mayor and I can help by applauding and amplifying the valuable work of all these groups and what they do, and by helping to gain positive publicity. Our civic awards may help do this. Please submit your nominations for those who have gone above and beyond what can be expected in Wandsworth. you can do this now in our newly launched website. Nominations are open until Monday the 23rd of June, so please let us know who you think should be recognised. Let's get on with the formal business of council, the council meeting, and then we can eat, drink, chat, renew friendships, and please use the time to meet new people and make new friendships. There are items on the agenda this evening that should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of the special circumstances, the special circumstances set out in full at the top of each report. So we're on to item five, which relates to the appointment of the cabinet members and the deputy leader of the council, and the delegation of executive powers as set out in paper 25.161. Is the report received for information, councillors? Agreed. Thank you, councillors. Item six. It deals with the notification received of the leader and the deputy leader of the opposition as set out in paper 25.162. Is this report received as information? Agreed. Thank you, councillors. Agreed. Item seven is the appointment of committees. The report is set out in paper 25.163, and details of the proposed membership for the next municipal year are set out in the appendix of that paper. Is that report approved? Agreed. Agreed. Thank you, councillors. Item eight is the report of the proposed appointment to outside bodies, which is set out in paper number 23.164 and its appendix. Is the report approved? Agreed. Thank you, councillors. We now turn to item nine, which is report number one, item for decision. Members, the recommendations of this item came to the General Purposes Committee, which met last week to debate this issue behind the recommendation. A recording of this meeting is available on the council website if people want to listen and look at it. Respecting the civic function of this evening's meeting, I am grateful that both groups have agreed not to deliver party political speeches. And while the majority of items on tonight's agenda are agreed by all councillors, this item will be subject to a vote. The administration's position is as follows. The administration has identified five areas of focus in which it says additional support for the Cabinet will help it deliver on its policy agenda. It is proposed that this support is provided through five Deputy Cabinet members, resident engagement, environment, housing, communities and health. These roles will replace the provision in the constitution of the eight policy champions. The opposition group position is that the proposal to create Deputy Cabinet members with each receiving an allowance of £9,314 involves an increase in the cost of Council Reliance Scheme by around £23,000 and an overall budget of £46,570. This does not provide value for money nor make provision for appropriate scrutiny by councillors. As a result, the Conservative Opposition councillors will vote against. I moved the reception of that report and asked members whether they approved the recommendation in paragraph 1, proposed revisions to Article 7 of the Consequential Amendments to the Member's Allowance Scheme, Paper 25.164. But I understand the opposition group on the Council would like a recorded vote. So can I ask the normal support for requests from five members? Thank you. Yeah, I've received. Which means that we'll have an individual vote. Thank you. I now invite the Deputy Chief Executive to call the vote for whether the recommendations are approved and remind members that we are not in the chamber. The microphones will not pick up whether you are voting against, for, against or abstaining. So it's very important to state clearly how you are voting, as is the custom. As Mayor, I will not be voting. Anna Popovici, would you like to take the vote? To take part in this vote. Councillors, I'm going to call your name. Councillor Kinola. Councillor Anand. Can you please speak up, just for the camera and the public? Agreed! Councillor Anand. Agreed. Councillor Apps. Agreed. Councillor Ayers. Agreed. Councillor Belton. Agreed. Councillor Boswell. Not present. Not present. Not right. Councillor Corner. Again. Councillor Critchard. Four. Councillor Crivelli. Again. Councillor Davis. Councillor De La De Louze. Again. Councillor Dickedum. Four. Councillor Dobres. Four. Councillor French. Four. Councillor Fraser. Four. Councillor Gassa. Four. Councillor Gosselin. Again. Councillor Govindia. Again. Councillor Mrs Graham. Again. Councillor Grimston. Again. Councillor Hamilton. Again. Councillor Hedges. Again. Councillor Henderson. Councillor Hogg, Councillor Humphreys, Councillor Jeffreys, Councillor Lawless, Councillor Lee, Councillor Locker, Councillor Mayorkas, Councillor McLeod, Councillor Osborne, Councillor Paul, Councillor Pridham, Councillor Richard Jones, Councillor Rigby, Councillor Stock. So just a moment before I get the result. Okay, the motion is passed. Votes for 29, votes against 17, abstentions nought. I therefore declare that the recommendations are approved. That concludes the formal business for this evening. I hope members and guests can join me and the outgoing mayor in the adjacent hall for some refreshments. I hope that it will be possible during the evening for me to meet every one of you. Please circulate and enjoy yourselves for the rest of the evening. Thank you very much. And welcome. So congratulations, thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. .