Councillor Marie Reid takes helm as Grantham Town Council chairman
A new chairman has been voted in to a town council after the previous one resigned.
Barrowby Gate Councillor Marie Reid (Ind) was nominated and achieved the majority of votes for the position, with Springfield councillor Paddy Perry (Ind) being voted in as vice chairman. It comes after Tim Harrison stepped down from the role, citing a lack of support from the full council and tensions with the Labour Party over his approach at the most recent meeting on Thursday, January 9.
In a speech to the council, she said: “Obviously, this is a situation I didn’t see happening and didn’t wish to happen at all.
“Councillor Tim Harrison has been a brilliant first chairman of this town council and worked his socks off towards helping us form the council in its formative years.”
Councillor Reid joined the authority in May 2024, having had no previous experience as a councillor, and said it had been a steep learning curve.
However, she said that over the past eight months, she had “worked hard” and “believed passionately that this town has a strong future.”
“If everyone pulls together, we can help this town grow and succeed.”
Acknowledging that some councillors were members of mainstream parties, she called for the council to be as apolitical as possible.
“I’m happy that we will all have differences of opinion. We will have questions, but there is a point where you have them with a small ‘p’ for political as opposed to a large ‘P,’” she said.
Earlesfield Councillor Lee Steptoe (Lab) was also nominated for both positions but did not secure enough votes.
He told councillors the election was “absolutely about the future, not about the past”.
“It’s time to establish that all executive power on the town council rests in the full council acting on recommendations from its committees,” he said.
“There is no role of council leader or deputy leader at this level.”
Coun Steptoe advertised his more than 10 years’ experience as a councillor, including chairmanship of committees and leadership at Grantham schools.
“National party politics has no role to play whatsoever at this level. However, all parties are able to legitimately stand for election. It’s called democracy, whatever some people may think.
“People in the same party will naturally talk to each other and often agree, but sometimes won’t.
“They are free to vote and speak exactly how they see fit, for the avoidance of any doubt.
“My first priority will always be to the people of Grantham, regardless of national affiliation.”
In a short statement on Tuesday night, Coun Harrison said: “I have no problem with anyone questioning me or my actions, but I did take exception to questioning my integrity.
“With that in mind, and the fact I’d been made aware that this was a personal issue, I decided it would be better for the running of the council for someone else to take the reins and hopefully take politics and personal grudges out of the day-to-day running.”
He said he was “proud of what we achieved in such a short time” and grateful for the support events had received.
“I’m sure the new chairman will continue this good work.”