The Council of Gravesham held an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, 18 June 2024, where the primary agenda was the admittance of former councillors as Honorary Aldermen. Despite multiple motions, none of the proposed former councillors received the necessary support to be admitted.

Admittance of Honorary Aldermen

The meeting focused on the proposal to admit five former councillors—John Caller, Brian Sangha, Harold Craske, Tony Pritchard, and Brian Francis—as Honorary Aldermen under Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972. This section allows councils to confer the title of Honorary Alderman on former councillors who have rendered eminent service to the council.

Councillor John Burden proposed, and Councillor Shane Mochrie-Cox seconded, that each former councillor be considered individually. The amendment to consider each candidate separately was narrowly passed with the Mayor, Councillor Daniel Adewale King, casting the deciding vote.

John Caller

The motion to admit John Caller as an Honorary Alderman was put to a vote. Despite 19 members voting in favour, the motion did not achieve the required two-thirds majority (23 members) and was therefore lost. Councillors Derek Ashenden, Helen Ashenden, Rajinder Atwal, Gurjit Bains, David Beattie, Dakota Dibben, Aaron Elliott, Emma Elliott, Gary Harding, Leslie Hills, Samir Jassal, Jordan Meade, Alan Metcalf, Leslie Pearton, Alan Ridgers, and Benjamin Sizer voted against the motion.

Brian Sangha

Similarly, the motion to admit Brian Sangha did not pass. The voting mirrored the previous motion, with 19 members in favour and 15 against, failing to meet the two-thirds majority requirement.

Harold Craske

The motion for Harold Craske followed the same pattern, with 19 members in favour and 15 against, resulting in the motion being lost.

Tony Pritchard

Tony Pritchard's motion also failed to achieve the necessary support, with the same voting outcome as the previous motions.

Brian Francis

Lastly, the motion to admit Brian Francis as an Honorary Alderman was put to the vote and, like the others, did not pass due to insufficient support.

The meeting concluded without any of the proposed former councillors being admitted as Honorary Aldermen. For more details, you can refer to the printed minutes of the meeting.