Agenda item
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 YES
Cllr Daniel Wright-Mason YES
Having been proposed and seconded, the outcome of the recorded vote to elect Councillor Keith Hoskins as Chair of the Council for the Civic Year 2026-27 was:
VOTE TOTALS:
YES : 24
ABSTAIN : 0
NO : 0
TOTAL : 24
THE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS:
Cllr Keith Hoskins YES
Cllr Ian Albert
Cllr Amy Allen
Cllr Daniel Allen
Cllr David Barnard YES
Cllr Matt Barnes YES
Cllr Tina Bhartwas YES
Cllr Sadie Billing
Cllr Ruth Brown YES
Cllr Cathy Brownjohn
Cllr Val Bryant
Cllr Rhona Cameron
Cllr David Chalmers YES
Cllr Jon Clayden YES
Cllr Sam Collins YES
Cllr Mick Debenham
Cllr Elizabeth Dennis
Cllr Emma Fernandes
Cllr Dominic Griffiths YES
Cllr Sarah Lucas
Cllr Steve Jarvis YES
Cllr Tim Johnson YES
Cllr Chris Lucas YES
Cllr Ian Mantle
Cllr Nigel Mason
Cllr Bryony May YES
Cllr Caroline McDonnell YES
Cllr Michael Muir YES
Cllr Ralph Muncer YES
Cllr Lisa Nash YES
Cllr Sean Nolan
Cllr Steven Patmore YES
Cllr Louise Peace YES
Cllr Vijaiya Poopalasingham
Cllr Sean Prendergast YES
Cllr Martin Prescott YES
Cllr Emma Rowe
Cllr Claire Strong
Cllr Tamsin Thomas
Cllr Tom Tyson YES
Cllr Paul Ward YES
Cllr Laura Williams
Cllr Alistair Willoughby
Cllr Stewart Willoughby
Cllr Claire Winchester YES
Cllr Dave Winstanley
Cllr Donna Wright
Cllr Daniel Wright-Mason
RESOLVED: That Councillor Keith Hoskins was elected as Chair of the Council for the Civic Year 2026-27.
Councillor Hoskins took the Chair then read and signed the Statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took possession of the Chain of Office. Councillor Hoskins thanked the Council for his election as Chair and advised that his Consort for the year would be Cherry Lincoln.