HONORARY FREEDOM OF THE BOROUGH

Council is recommended to agree to present the person named below with a certificate conferring upon them the title of Honorary Freeman of the Borough affixed with the common seal of the Council.

The motion to be duly moved and seconded is:

“That, by virtue of the power vested in it by Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council does admit Anthony Colman as Freeman of the London Borough of Merton.

This honour is bestowed on Anthony Colman in recognition of the substantial contribution he made to the Borough including serving as Leader of the Council from 1991-1997.”

Note by Chief Executive: Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires a resolution conferring the title of Honorary Freeperson to be passed by not less than two thirds of the Members voting thereon.

The Mayor invited Councillor Judge to move and Councillor McLean to second the motion.

Councillor Judge:

Thank you Madam Mayor it’s a pleasure to move this motion. Tony Colman was Leader of Merton Council from 1991 to 1997 before becoming MP for Putney. He’d originally stood in Durnsford against Theresa May before being elected in 1990 for Lavender ward. He’d only been elected a year earlier but it was a measure of his quality that he became Leader of the Council so quickly.

He had been a director of the Burton group for more than twenty years and played a part in starting TopShop. As such, he brought business and managerial experience into the office. The Labour administration needed a new leader and Tony more than fitted the bill. It was soon apparent that he was completely on top of the business of the Council and demonstrated a sure touch and this was also the first administration Madam Mayor that operated in this Civic Centre.

The Council under his leadership carried through service improvements including being the first Council to introduce free nursery education. Learning disability services became state of the art and the capital headroom of the Council was prioritised for new housing. It was a time of considerable achievement and during his time the Council also had strong partnerships with the voluntary sector.

Tony was and is a strong environmentalist and attended the UN summit at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. An important appointment Tony made was Dame Heather Rabbatts, then our youngest Chief Executive who made a powerful impression and helped put Merton on the map. His next appointment was also a woman - Sue Charteris.

Tony started a monthly local Council newspaper – the Merton messenger to communicate with residents. Tony’s deputies were Maria Louise DeVilliers and then Sheila Knight who was also chair of education. Siobhain McDonagh who is with us this evening, now the MP for Mitcham and Morden, was chair of housing. Linda Kirby was chair of social services, Mike Brunt chair of the environment, Paul Harper chair of leisure, Kingsley Abrams chair of finance and Joe Abrams equalities.

Tony instituted weekly 7.30am Leader’s Strategy meetings to keep everyone on their toes, buoyed by compensatory bacon sandwiches. And not least of Tony’s contributions were the efforts he made to influence, persuade and sometimes to cajole his Councillor colleagues. The Council then operated through a hierarchy of Committees, political management required a close knowledge of all reports but also the personalities and views of committee chairs. Budgets in particular were a difficult process with continuing cuts due to reductions in government funding. The Labour group had a culture of democratic decision making and the whole group was involved in budget votes, item by item. Tony would go out of his way to discuss details with committee chairs, Linda tells me he once visited her at the school where she was teaching in Wandsworth to discuss the impending social services budget. There is no doubt that Tony worked very hard as Leader. In a pre-digital age, legend has it that the postbox at the end of his road in Wimbledon village had to have an extra unit attached to accommodate his correspondence. He was assisted in all matters by his wife Juliet and they were a very sociable and hospitable couple. Tony was truly a professional leader who led significant achievements and gave Merton Council a profile it wouldn’t otherwise have had. We honour Tony for his contribution to Merton.

Councillor McLean:

Thank you, Madam Mayor, and Deputy Lieutenant.

It is my pleasure to second Tony Colman as Freeman of the London Borough of Merton, recognising his six years as council leader as well his wider contribution to British politics, business and academia. This is honour is well deserved. Congratulations.   

The Mayor then invited Councillor Brunt to speak to the motion.

Councillor Brunt:

Much has been said about Tony already but as a fellow member of the class of 1990 having joined the Council with others who are no longer here, I’d just like to add to everything that has been said. I was 35 at the time and the Council seemed a very stuffy and stayed place, I think at that age most places do seem like that and Tony really transformed the place. He brought his business experience and he really expanded the service offer moving from what the Government wanted which was value for money to best value and best value was what we looked for in Merton to try and get the best value for our residents. There was one senior assistant director who was retiring towards the end of Tony’s time and I remember him taking me aside and saying that under Tony’s leadership and the appointments that he made, it was so refreshing that he turned from being a henchman to being a disciple and I think that’s a real tribute from a Government officer to say that of a Council. The only blemish on Tony’s career is that he became MP for Putney – some seek greatness others have greatness thrust upon them and I became Leader of the Council afterwards and had to deal with the owner of Wimbledon Football Club who tried to persuade us to build him a stadium and various other things but in the two years that I was Leader and that was at a time when Leaders of Councils were not paid, it was a voluntary occupation and you had to have a full time job outside, I don’t know how he kept it up and I lasted two years I could not keep that pace up so it’s a real tribute to Tony that he achieved so much and went on to achieve even more after leaving Merton, so I wholeheartedly support this resolution and thank you Tony.

The Mayor then called for a vote and the vote was carried, unanimously. Anthony Colman was invited to receive a certificate conferring upon him the title of Honorary Freeman of the Borough affixed with the common seal of the Council.

The substantive resolution was agreed.

RESOLVED:

That, by virtue of the power vested in it by Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council does admit Anthony Colman as Freeman of the London Borough of Merton.

This honour is bestowed on Anthony Colman in recognition of the substantial contribution he made to the Borough including serving as Leader of the Council from 1991-1997.