This is what I had to say at the last meeting of the current Town Council.

“I have been very privileged to be part of the new Town Council for Northampton.

A Labour Town council.

A community Town Council, for the largest town in the country, and the largest in Europe.

We have achieved many wonderful things.

We have put money into community groups to help them grow and thrive.

This has not just helped the different groups.

It keeps our money local and helps build the local economy.

Strong local organisations build community resilience.

That means we have also supported West Northants council by taking pressure off their services.

We have put on the most wonderful events, free to the people of the town.

Band in the park, Beer Festival, Eid festival, Carnival, Diwalli, In Bloom, Bonfire Night, Music festival, Fireworks, Remembrance, Christmas Lights, Christmas, events in the Guildhall, events in the Market Square.

This is real value for money for our residents.

The events bring people together.

They break-down barriers between people.

They provide a rich cultural experience for all of us.

They make us all proud of where we live.

In particular, I want to talk about how the Town Council shapes the way we live using Northampton Town of Sanctuary, my organisation, as an example.

NToS has been running for 10 years as a purely volunteer organisation and as most of you will know, we provide lots of services and opportunities, ranging from free legal advice to ESOL classes. We run a youth club, a bike project and many other things.

The project ran from my home for 8 years.

It was thanks to Town Council funding that we were able to open up our first office and become more accessible.

As a direct result of that, we won a 5-year lottery grant enabling us to employ our first full time worker.

We now have a building that will be opening later in the year as the first refugee centre in the county.

Officers at WNC tell us that our services save them hundreds of thousands of pounds each year.I am proud of that.

I am proud that Northampton Town Council has agreed to become a Town of Sanctuary.

Building community resilience and bringing people together has been a huge achievement of this council. We have stopped the growth of hate we see in other parts of the country. We have brought hope to the people of our town.

I am immensely proud to have been a part of that.

I thank everyone, officers, staff, councillors who have made that happen.”