Councils pay tribute as members prepare to stand down in May

COUNCILS have paid tribute to retiring members who have devoted decades of service to their communities.

Calderdale Council will say goodbye to a number of councillors when they step down from their roles at May’s elections.

They include Labour’s Coun Megan Swift , from Town ward, veteran Conservatives John Ford, in Elland, and Peter Caffrey at Northowram and Shelf.

The council’s Cabinet member for Public Services and Communities, Labour’s Coun Jenny Lynn, is stepping down in Park ward.

Coun Sophie Whittaker, who has represented Rastrick ward for the Conservatives since a by-election in 2017 and chaired the council’s Audit Committee, is also stepping down, as is her party colleague Tina Benton, elected to serve Brighouse ward in 2021 when the elections which were postponed from 2020 because of the pandemic.

And Conservative Coun Guy Beech, who has served Illingworth and Mixenden ward since the 2021 poll, has had to step down in recent weeks after moving to a new job with Calderdale Council.

Paying tribute to the retiring councillors, Coun Silvia Dacre (Lab, Todmorden), Cabinet member for Resources, said Coun Swift’s 22 years of service included service as Cabinet member for Children and Young People’s Services – “a subject area about which she felt extremely strongly and as very committed to.”

Coun Lynn had been a muchvalued Cabinet colleague, warmhearted, committed to her brief and particularly committed to her ward and residents, said Coun Dacre.

Meanwhile, tributes have been paid to a long-standing councillor who has dedicated his life to Barnsley, ahead of his retirement in May.

Labour councillors Jeff Ennis and Summer Risebury, and Conservative John Wison, are standing down at May’s election, and farewells were said during their last full council meeting.

Councillor Ennis was first elected to Barnsley Council (BMBC) in 1980, and became leader in 1995, before standing down in 1997 to serve as MP. Coun Ennis stood down as MP in 2010, before returning to Barnsley Council, and becoming mayor in2017.

Councillors paid tribute to Coun Ennis for his nearly four decades of dedicated public service. His effectiveness, his contributions to the council’s motion on Ukraine, and his commitment to the community were commended.