After a District Council Lunch, we enjoyed successful Annual Meetings of District and Town Councils with all of my choreographed arrangements going to plan. After all this, I announced that "Tony Carmedy had unforeseen personal problems that would make it difficult if not impossible to serve as a councillor" and sought their views on the selection of Ross McKay to replace him for which there were mixed views that became more positive later.
Awoke very early today with the noisy peacock in attendance. Romped with Diana for a while with mixed results and then got up and inspected the ant-poison phials that we had set out last night. They take this food back to their nests to feed the queen and young and, last night, we were attacking the populations in my office and in the conservatory. To my office after breakfast to have a good clear-up as I had been getting upset at the general muddle after the election. Then to update this last couple of days' journal at length as they have been quite eventful. Telephoned a few other politicians to check on the arrangements for today's meetings and tried to create an opportunity before the District Council Meeting for our new members to meet other members of the opposition.
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I had to get ready early so as to join the luncheon organised by the Chairman of Council for certain members of the Policy Committee and could only hope that the others were mustering safely in order to attend the full council meeting. The lunch was very good, but rather formal, and in a private room at the Bridge Hotel in Huntingdon. The party consisted of the Ingoing and Outgoing Chairman of Council, the Leader, various Vice-Chairmen and me as a token opposition representative. The meal was a choice of smoked chicken/broccoli soup with either salmon or beef to follow and I went for the beef. The meal was going on and on and so I made my excuses and left after a single cup of coffee so as to arrive back to see my group members at Pathfinder House. I was hoping to introduce them to the Labour Group and give them a joint pep talk but that was not possible. At least I was able to brief them on their roles for the afternoon.
All of the District council meetings and the committees went according to plan and we achieved the representation that we had sought. Then I got Sally to pass over a letter to Daisy Seager with a copy of the Town Council committee proposals in it and they seemed to be accepted all right. Certainly, there was great accord amongst the opposition councillors and we were even getting on all right with the Conservatives as well. Home just in time for tea and then I printed out the full lists of summaries for our St Neots Area Liberal Democrat councillors and duties for distribution after the Town Council meeting this evening if all goes well. I opted to attend the St Neots Town Council meeting myself and to sit on the public seats, next to the press, to see how things turned out.
It all went to plan and to script with the apologies for absence given for outgoing Mayor, Ruth Clapham, and also Tony Carmedy who the Town Clerk "understood to be working away on business". The Deputy Town Mayor, Conservative Graham Hunt, proposed Michael Pope as Town Mayor and this was seconded by Sally Guinee and accepted without there being any contrary nominations. In return Michael Pope nominated Graham to continue as Deputy Mayor and both expressed their view that it was right that the Town Mayorship was being returned to its former non-party-political status. The new Town Mayor had his photograph taken with his chain being put on by his new deputy and the meeting got down to business.
The proposed disposition of committee places was then proposed and the Clerk reported that these appeared to accommodate the preferences that councillors had expressed to him. They were agreed without dissent; as were the proposed representations on outside bodies, with a minor modification made necessary by the need for an additional representative on the Council of Churches. As each stage was approved, I passed the prepared papers over to the press bench, culminating with the supplement giving all of our local councillors’ details, committees, representations, and subjects upon which they speak for the party locally.
Thus, the evening passed very amicably which the press found a little boring! After this meeting, I called together our main people for a drink in the Bridge Hotel and gave them the news that "Tony Carmedy had unforeseen personal problems that would make it difficult if not impossible to serve as a councillor" and sought their views on the selection of Ross McKay to replace him. There were mixed views which became more positive as the discussion developed and I left them to think on it overnight. Quite a day!