Cllr Ron Cook Bids Farewell to Tamworth Borough Council

At tonight’s meeting of the full council former Mayor of Tamworth, Cllr Ron Cook, announced his retirement from front line politics in Tamworth 47 years after he was first elected to Tamworth Borough Council.

At the beginning of the last meeting of the full council before the local elections, Cllr Cook, who represents the Conservative Party in Spital ward, asked the current Mayor, Cllr Jeremy Oates, if he could make an announcement, the Mayor said yes and Cllr Cook then informed a packed chamber that he would not be seeking re-election at the upcoming local elections.

Cllr Ron Cook said he has contested many elections, and lost a few but won many more, since he was first elected in 1965.  Ron also informed the chamber the first committee he sat on was the town’s sewerage works committee.  He also said that, although, he is stepping down from the Borough Council he will still attend meetings, sitting in the public gallery, to make sure the councillors continue to do a good job.

Cllr Cook’s speech was greeted with a round of applause and a standing ovation from the whole of the chamber and then councillors from both sides of the political divide paid tribute to Ron’s long years of service to Tamworth.

Cllr Cook was first elected in 1965 as a member of the Labour Party and stayed a member until 1986 when, disillusioned with the party, he crossed the floor and joined the Conservative Party.  After a few years off the council, Ron was re-elected in May 1999 for the Spital ward and was leader of the Conservative party opposition group until 2004 when the party retook control of the council and he was elected Leader of the council.

He was Mayor of Tamworth in 1977/78 and was made a Freeman of the Borough in 2007.