Agenda item
ELECTION OF LEADER OF THE COUNCIL
The Chairman of the Council will invite nominations for the office of Leader of
the Council. The Leader elected by the Council will remain in office until the
next round of ordinary elections.
Minutes:
Nominations were invited for the office of the Leader of the Council to remain in office until the next round of ordinary elections.
A nomination was received from Mr Baines who proposed the election of Mr Hemsley as Leader. This was seconded by Mr Foster.
No further nominations were received.
RESOLVED
That Mr Hemsley be elected Leader of the Council.
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In accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 11, paragraph 2 –
Recording of Votes – Mr Gale requested that his abstention from voting on the above
resolution be recorded.
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Mr Hemsley gave a short speech of acceptance as follows:
Colleagues,
It is a huge privilege to take on this job. This is a very proud moment for me and my family.
As someone who has lived and worked in Rutland all my life I know just what a special place this is.
All of us in this room are guardians of that place. That comes with both honour and responsibility.
Let me tell you, if I may, a little bit more about why I am standing here tonight as your new Leader of Rutland County Council.
I became a councillor and now Leader precisely because, just like everyone in this Chamber, I care deeply about the County that we are lucky enough to call home.
For all my life I have been a grafter – from the time my dad forced me to roll my sleeves up at the age of 13 to help out with painting, decorating and gardening, right through to the time when I put my overalls on for good, starting out as a one-man band in the maintenance business 35 years ago.
I will bring that same sense of passion and energy to this job – I will continue to be a grafter who will commit every ounce and energy I have to what is now the most important job of all.
People say to me what are your priorities as Council Leader? It is pretty simple: I want to protect, preserve and enhance what we already have.
One thing that being a small businessman has taught me is that to protect what we have we can never stand still.
Think of back to what life was like in Rutland in the 1970s. In many ways we have what we have now:
- Quality of life that is the envy of most other places
- Great schools that all parents can access
- Good public services
- Flourishing independent businesses
- Low crime
- Low unemployment
- And a great sense of community with people look out for each other.
To protect and preserve Rutland has had to grow by welcoming new people and investing in our infrastructure.
Knowing that we have many challenges and priorities to grapple with.
For example,
- How do ensure that our sons and daughters can afford to live in Rutland in the future, enjoying the same opportunities that we had at their age?
- How we ensure that business in our town centres not only survive but thrive in an era where the digital super highway threatens to replace the high street?
- How do we make public services work better for the people in a way that is financially sustainable?
- And
- How do we ensure that people who are more vulnerable get the right support and care that they need at a time when demand for those services is increasing?
Colleagues, all around this Chamber are people who care passionately about the communities that we serve.
We may, from time to time, have disagreements and different views about what needs to be done…. but every single one of us wants to do the right thing for our wards and the County.
We are all ambassadors for Rutland and part of the County’s success story.
We are also custodians to its future.
I want us to work as a team with our communities to find the best path forward. To begin to tackle some of those big challenges of our time.
Because the answers, colleagues, do not just lie here in this Chamber, they lie in the villages and towns that make Rutland great.
The Council cannot do it on our own – nor should we.
To succeed we have to work as team.
That also means from, the Council’s point of view, getting better and listening and learning. It means being more open and transparent about our work and connecting better with the communities that we serve.
For my part, I will be a very approachable council leader. My ears will always be open, as will my door.
In conclusion, colleagues, thank you for bestowing on me this enormous honour.
I particularly want to thank my predecessor, colleague and friend Cllr Tony Mathias who committed so much personal energy to this job, bringing stability and a clear vision for what was needed at a time when it was needed the most.
Tony, you will be a very hard act to follow and is a privilege to follow in your footsteps.