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Issue - meetings

ELECTION OF THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CIVIC YEAR 2026/27

 

 

Meeting: 21/05/2026 - Council (Item 1)

ELECTION OF THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE CIVIC YEAR 2026/27

Decision:

RESOLVED: That Councillor Keith Hoskins was elected as Chair of the Council for the Civic Year 2026/27.

Minutes:

Audio recording – 3 minutes 15 seconds

 

Councillor Keith Hoskins proposed Councillor Emma Rowe to be Chair for Agenda Item 1, and this was seconded by Councillor Sadie Billing and, it was:

 

RESOLVED: That Councillor Emma Rowe was elected as Chair for Agenda Item 1 of the Council meeting.

 

Councillor Ruth Brown nominated Councillor Keith Hoskins for Chair of the Council for the Civic Year 2026-27, and this was seconded by Councillor David Chalmers.

 

Councillor Val Bryant nominated Councillor Sadie Billing for Chair of the Council for the Civic Year 2026-27, and this was seconded by Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham.

 

The following Members took part in the debate:

 

·             Councillor Martin Prescott

·             Councillor Sean Nolan

·             Councillor Tamsin Thomas

·             Councillor Daniel Allen

·             Councillor Laura Williams

 

The following points were made as part of the debate:

 

·             There was little point in having a debate as Members were unlikely to change their minds based on the opinions expressed.

·             The Chair of the Council was one of the primary civic roles allocated each year, and the convention of the 12-month term had not been broken since the COVID-19 pandemic.

·             This debate was about trying to understand why they were having a contest based on who had been put forward.

·             Councillor Sadie Billing had been a diligent Vice-Chair of the Council and had two years of experience being the Chair of Letchworth Community Forum.

·             It was puzzling why the established convention was not being followed.

·             While Councillor Keith Hoskins had been a fantastic and well-liked Chair, this was a political manoeuvre aimed at blocking the normal convention.

·             There were undertones of sexism in the motion to re-elect the Chair for another year who had not served a probationary year like the Vice-Chair, and this act was cynical and shameful.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, the outcome of the recorded vote to elect Councillor Sadie Billing as Chair of the Council for the Civic Year 2026-27 was:

 

VOTE TOTALS:

 

YES                 :           22

ABSTAIN        :           0

NO                  :           0

TOTAL            :           22

 

THE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS:

 

Cllr Keith Hoskins                                 

Cllr Ian Albert                                                 YES

Cllr Amy Allen                                                YES

Cllr Daniel Allen                                             YES

Cllr David Barnard                                 

Cllr Matt Barnes                                   

Cllr Tina Bhartwas                                 

Cllr Sadie Billing                                             YES

Cllr Ruth Brown                                    

Cllr Cathy Brownjohn                                     YES

Cllr Val Bryant                                                YES

Cllr Rhona Cameron                                      YES

Cllr David Chalmers                               

Cllr Jon Clayden                                   

Cllr Sam Collins                                   

Cllr Mick Debenham                                      YES

Cllr Elizabeth Dennis                                     YES

Cllr Emma Fernandes                                    YES

Cllr Dominic Griffiths                             

Cllr Sarah Lucas                                            YES

Cllr Steve Jarvis                                  

Cllr Tim Johnson                                   

Cllr Chris Lucas                                   

Cllr Ian Mantle                                                YES

Cllr Nigel Mason                                             YES

Cllr Bryony May                                    

Cllr Caroline McDonnell                            

Cllr Michael Muir                                  

Cllr Ralph Muncer                                  

Cllr Lisa Nash                                     

Cllr Sean Nolan                                              YES

Cllr Steven Patmore                                

Cllr Louise Peace                                  

Cllr Vijaiya Poopalasingham                         YES

Cllr Sean Prendergast                              

Cllr Martin Prescott                               

Cllr Emma Rowe                                     

Cllr Claire Strong                                 

Cllr Tamsin Thomas                                       YES

Cllr Tom Tyson                                     

Cllr Paul Ward                                     

Cllr Laura Williams                                         YES

Cllr Alistair Willoughby                                   YES

Cllr Stewart Willoughby                                  YES

Cllr Claire Winchester                             

Cllr Dave Winstanley                                     YES

Cllr Donna Wright  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1