Council honours work of Mayors
THREE former Mayors of Northampton have been named ‘Honorary Aldermen’ in recognition of their years of service to the town.
The politicians were given the titles during a special ceremony at the Guildhall last night, in front of an audience made up of both their political peers and families.
The first to be given the title was Don Edwards, who despite being first elected in 1975, is still a member of Northamptonshire County Council.
Nominating him for the title, Councillor Tim Hadland (Con, Old Duston) said: “In all the years I’ve known Don, I’ve known him to be a man of strong principle, who is very firm in his views. He’s probably one of the most reliable people I’ve ever known. If he says he’s going to do something, you can rely 100 per cent on the fact that it will be done.”
The second person to be given the award was former councillor Arthur McCutcheon, who was first elected in Northampton in 1983.
Nominating the former teacher for the title, Councillor Terry Wire (Lab, St James) highlighted his involvement in key regeneration projects in Northampton, including the development of the Sixfields stadium and the new village of Upton.
He said: “Arthur has got a lot to be proud of in terms of his contribution to Northampton with all these developments.”
The final former Mayor to be named an Alderman during the ceremony was Barry Massey, who was first elected to represent the town in 1977.
Nominating him, Councillor Phil Larratt (Con, East Hunsbury) said: “During his time at the Guildhall, Barry always said ‘you’ve got to make politics fun’, and he certainly did that.”
The Alderman title has a history in Northampton stretching back hundreds of years.
In its original incarnation, the title gave people political powers at the Guildhall and those given the role were elected to the council for six years.
Following a reorganisation of the authority in the 1970s, the position became honorary with no powers at-tached to it.
It was scrapped in 2008 as the council’s leaders thought it was outdated but it has now been brought back for former councillors who have served at the Guildhall for more than 20 years.
As well as the three new Aldermen who were given the position last night, there are currently three other Aldermen: John Dickie, Stan James and Trevor Bailey.
In speeches made after they were awarded the positions last night, all three of the new Aldermen thanked their friends, families and political colleagues for their support over the years.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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