Agenda item - Appointment of the Leader of the Council for 2023/24

The Mayor will seek nominations for the appointment of the Leader of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

It is proposed that the Council elects Councillor Sankey as Leader of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

8.1           The Mayor invited Councillor Hamilton to propose the appointment of the Leader of the Council.

8.2           Councillor Hamilton proposed that Councillor Sankey should be appointed as the Leader of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

8.3           Councillor Williams formally seconded the proposal.

8.4           The Mayor noted that there were no other nominations and put the motion to the vote which was agreed.

8.5           RESOLVED: That Councillor Sankey be appointed as the Leader of the Council for 2023/24.

8.6           The Mayor then invited Councillor Sankey to address the council.

8.7           Councillor Sankey thanked Councillors Hamilton and Williams for their nomination. She paid tributes to her ward predecessor the late Councillor Peltzer-Dunn who she stated was a dedicated and decent public servant who gave over 50 years of service to the city of Brighton & Hove and to recently deceased former Mayor Brian Fitch who served the city for most of his life with humour and flair. She thanked residents of wish ward who had put their faith and confidence in her. She stated that she was born in the city in the early 1980s at the maternity ward at Sussex County, a ward her dad who was of Irish/Nigerian descent helped to build whilst a student in the city. She now had an opportunity to give something back and was proud to be elected as part of the most diverse set of councillors that the city had ever known. She described her love for the city adding that whether born in the city or having moved there, Brighton & Hove was a place to fall in love with, a big-hearted city with a pioneering history and a global reputation for creativity, excellence, compassion, fairness, and fun. Whist certain it was the best place in the world to be she was equally certain that the city had not yet reached its full potential. Stagnation and drift had been the hallmark of recent decades and the city looked the worse for it also, compounded by national and global challenges. Further that, Brighton & Hove was one city with many faces and many voices, that by working together harnessing our best ideas and opportunities the Council can create a city less divided, fairer, more peaceful, and more equal.