Agenda item
ELECTION OF SPEAKER
- Meeting of Annual Council Meeting, Council, Wednesday, 17th May, 2017 8.00 p.m. (Item 1.)
- View the background to item 1.
To elect a Councillor to serve as Speaker of the Council for the municipal year 2017/18 or until a successor is appointed, whichever is the sooner.
(Note: Section 4 and Schedule 2 of the Local Government Act 1972 provide that the election of the chairman (which post the Council has resolved to title “Speaker” in Tower Hamlets) shall be the first item of business transacted at the Annual Meeting of the Council and that in the case of an equality of votes, the person presiding at the meeting shall give a casting vote in addition to any vote s/he may have).
Minutes:
The Speaker of the Council Khales Uddin Ahmed in the Chair
Before commencing his address, the Speaker of the Council welcomed to the Council meeting, Unmesh Desai, the Greater London Authority Member for the City and East London Constituency
He was also sad to report that former Councillor Ashek Ali passed away in April. He was the first elected Bangladeshi Labour Councillor in Tower Hamlets. The Council’s thoughts and wishes were with his family and friends at this time.
The Speaker of the Council stated that he was grateful to have had this opportunity to serve as Speaker over the previous year and had enjoyed the experience very much. He reported that he had received overwhelming support from the community at the many events he had supported and was proud to have had the honour of recognising the achievements of citizens at the Civic Awards ceremony.
He had held two successful events to raise money for his charities. He hoped to raise around £50,000 for his charities. These were the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, Apasen, SOUL (the Social Organisation for Unity and Leisure) and the BBPI Foundation.He thanked all those who had supported these events, especially the Canary Wharf Group, who had supported the Speaker over many years, fellow Councillors and the newly established Speaker’s Cadets. He hoped that future Speakers would continue with this initiative. He expressed support for the campaign to make Tower Hamlets a Royal Borough given its special features and hoped that the Deputy Lieutenant for Tower Hamlets, Leslie Morgan would continue to work for this. Finally, he wished his successor good luck and thanked staff for supporting him during the year.
The Mayor John Biggs and the Opposition Group Leaders then responded to the Speakers address. They thanked him for all his hard work over the previous year and for presenting a positive image of the Borough to the community. It was clear from his time in Office that he cared passionately and was very dedicated to the Borough. They also congratulated him on his charitable fundraising, his community work, especially his work with the young Mayors, and the manner in which he had presided over Council meetings.
The Speaker then called for nominations to serve as Speaker of the Council for the coming year.
It was moved by Mayor John Biggs, seconded by Councillor Rachael Saunders, and:
RESOLVED
1. That Councillor Sabina Akhtar be elected to serve as Speaker of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Council until the Annual Council Meeting in May 2018.
Mayor John Biggs and Councillor Rachael Saunders then came forward to witness the Speaker of the Council signing the statutory declaration of acceptance of office.
The Speaker of the Council, Councillor Sabina Akhtar in the Chair
The incoming Speaker, Councillor Sabina Akhtar thanked the Council for electing her as Speaker. She reported that she would be one of youngest Councillors and the first ever Bengali women to hold the position. She hoped that this achievement would inspire the younger generation to play an active role in politics.
In the year ahead she would be working to encourage citizens to participation in the life of the borough especially young people. For this reason, she had chosen the following charities to support this year: The Tower Hamlets Education Support in Sylhet Trust, the Boundary Employment Project, the Stifford Centre Trust, the Docklands Sailing Centre Trust and Wise Youth Trust. She would be supported by her husband and her family. She hoped to raise as much money as possible for her charities. However, she stated that she would not be setting a specific fund raising target so as not to detract from her primary goal of providing a link between the Council and the community.
The respective political leaders and other Councillors then congratulated Councillor Akhtar on her appointment.