Appointment of the Deputy Mayor
Full council, 20 May 2026: a named vote.
For 25, Against 9, 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 (25)
- 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)
Against (9)
- Alexander Ellison (Conservative)
- David Knight (Conservative)
- Lynne Darrah (Conservative)
- Thomas Mobbs (Conservative)
- Tom Dawlings (Conservative)
- Dianne Hill (Labour)
- Jayne Sharratt (Labour)
- Ellen Neville (Tunbridge Wells Alliance)
- Matthew Sankey (Tunbridge Wells Alliance)
Abstained (2)
- Ms Beverley Palmer (Conservative)
- Hugo Pound (Labour)
From the minutes
f the Borough Council. - Councillor Birch was able to engage with the community and to communicate the Council's wish to project a more diverse, family friendly image. The Mayor took a recorded vote: Members who voted for: 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 (25), Members who voted against: Councillors Darrah, Dawlings, Ellison, Knight, Mobbs, Hill, Sharratt, Neville, Sankey (9). Members who abstained: Councillor Pound, Palmer (2) RESOLVED – That Councillor Astra Birch be elected Deputy Mayor of the Borough for the ensuing municipal year ending on the date of the Annual Mee
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.