The Council voted unanimously to award the Honorary Freedom of the Borough to Lyn Brown and Paulette Watson MBE. No one was awarded the title of Honorary Alderman.

Honorary Freedom of the Borough

The Council voted to award the Honorary Freedom of the Borough to two people.

Lyn Brown

The Council discussed the nomination of Lyn Brown for the Honorary Freedom of the Borough.

Councillor John Gray, who represents West Ham Ward, spoke about Ms Brown's history in Newham.

I would point out that Lynn was born and bred in Newham. Her parents were working class factory workers. She worked in local government. She was a councillor. She was an executive of the council for many years.

He went on to speak about her work as a Member of Parliament representing West Ham.

It is little known that the former constituency of West Ham was the most densely populated consistency in the UK. The most densely populated. When you think of the problems and the pressures and the challenges in Newham, she only got the same amount of money to run her office to support residents as MPs in leafy shires.

Councillor Sarah Ruiz spoke about Ms Brown's long service to the borough.

Like others in the room, Lynn has actually been a friend for, I hate to think it, but probably nearly 40 years. She is responsible for me standing here today because she was the one who encouraged me with, 'if you think you can do any better, why don't you join?' Which was actually very typical of Lynn.

Councillor Alan Griffiths spoke about Ms Brown's family's deep roots in Newham.

She grew up in a fifth floor council flat in Drew Road in Silvertown, where her parents were still living when she was first elected. She went to local school. And I remember seeing a picture when the new building was open for that school and there were two little girls in the brownies and one of them was Lynn Brown.

He went on to talk about her work outside of Newham.

What hasn't been mentioned, I think, so far is all her contributions to local government outside this area. She was the chair of a committee on the Association of Metropolitan Authorities and then the local government association.

Paulette Watson MBE

The Council also discussed the nomination of Paulette Watson MBE for the Honorary Freedom of the Borough.

The report considered by the council stated that:

Paulette Watson MBE has exemplified over 22 years of dedicated service to the Newham community, channelling her passion into education, digital inclusion, and youth development.

Honorary Alderman

The Civic Awards Panel did not recommend anyone for appointment as an Honorary Alderman this year.