Appointment of the Deputy Mayor
Full council, 20 May 2026: a named vote.
For 6, Against 28, Abstained 2.
Party in overall control of the council on the date: Liberal Democrats. Each councillor's party is the one the council recorded for them at the time.
For (6)
- Alexander Ellison (Conservative)
- David Knight (Conservative)
- Lynne Darrah (Conservative)
- Thomas Mobbs (Conservative)
- Tom Dawlings (Conservative)
- Dianne Hill (Labour)
Against (28)
- Andrew Wallace (Liberal Democrats)
- Ash Shukla (Liberal Democrats)
- Astra Birch (Liberal Democrats)
- Ben Chapelard (Liberal Democrats)
- Christopher Digby (Liberal Democrats)
- Christopher Hall (Liberal Democrats)
- Corinna Keefe (Liberal Democrats)
- Courtney Souper (Liberal Democrats)
- David Osborne (Liberal Democrats)
- Don Kent (Liberal Democrats)
- Gavin Barrass (Liberal Democrats)
- Hugh Patterson (Liberal Democrats)
- Ian Standing (Liberal Democrats)
- Jamie Johnson (Liberal Democrats)
- Justine Rutland (Liberal Democrats)
- Kimberley Johnson (Liberal Democrats)
- Mark Ellis (Liberal Democrats)
- Mark Munday (Liberal Democrats)
- Martin Brice (Liberal Democrats)
- Matt Lowe (Liberal Democrats)
- Pamela Wilkinson (Liberal Democrats)
- Richard Brown (Liberal Democrats)
- Rob Wormington (Liberal Democrats)
- Simon Davidson (Liberal Democrats)
- Ukonu Obasi (Liberal Democrats)
- Ellen Neville (Tunbridge Wells Alliance)
- Matthew Sankey (Tunbridge Wells Alliance)
- Jayne Sharratt (Labour)
Abstained (2)
- Ms Beverley Palmer (Conservative)
- Hugo Pound (Labour)
From the minutes
and had the ability to make sound judgements whilst still demonstrating impartiality and fairness. All things that would make him an excellent choice as Deputy Mayor. The Mayor took a recorded vote: Members who voted for: Councillors Darrah, Dawlings, Ellison, Knight, Mobbs, Hill (6) Members who voted against: Councillors Chapelard, Ellis, Wilkinson, Rutland, Hall, Wormington, Lowe, Barrass, Birch, Brice, Brown, Davidson, Digby, Johnson J, Johnson K, Keefe, Kent, Munday, Obasi, Osborne, Patterson, Shukla, Souper, Standing, Wallace, Sharratt, Neville, Sankey (28) Members who abstained: Councillor Pound, Palmer (2) Debate – Councillor Birch: - Councillor Birch had been a Parish Councillor in Pembury since 2021 where she chaired the finance and HR committee.
The item in the council's own minutes. Names are matched to the councillors listed at the meeting. The names of people who aren't councillors are removed.