Agenda and minutes

The Mayor welcomed the Bishop of Edmonton the Right Reverend Rob Wickham who gave the blessing.

My friends over the course of the last two and half weeks much has been shared about the life and witness of our Late Queen.  We have all heard deeply moving stories of a woman who listened, made you feel unique and who prayed for you, as she sought each of you to pray for her.  Without doubt, she would have been delighted about our shared work in Enfield. She regularly spoke of communities and families working collaboratively and I know that this is on your hearts also. My dear friends thank you for all that you do and thank you for all that you are.

She was able to this work of course because she was secure in herself.  Her own sense of duty, her own sense of purpose, she knew who she was and what she was here to be and do. ln 1952 the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, helped Her Majesty prepare for her role. He told her that she was “God called” to exert a spiritual power and lead her subjects by her personal example. This, as many have testified to these past few days, has done for every faith and none. Her duty and her service. She spoke regularly that Jesus was her inspiration., we will know that in the Bible the night before Jesus dies, he takes a towel and washes the feet of the disciples in an act of humility, love, and service. He then tells the disciples that they must do the same.  Until the 18^th century the monarch the day before Good Friday take to the streets and wash the feet of the poorest in the community as commanded by Jesus. Today this takes the form of the Maundy gift, Maundy from the Latin Mandatum, meaning the command to serve and the command to love. This command to love cannot be separated from Good Friday and Easter Day which speak of death and resurrection. Her Majesty knew very well in that story we see the whole of human life.  

We see joy, anger, peace, even a knife attack from one of the disciples. We see denial and we see betrayal. Our shared emotions, our shared experience is all found in those brief chapters, and all this takes place straight after Jesus's command that we love one another. What has become clear over the last 2 1/2 weeks is that Her Majesty lived out this relationship quietly but with dedication. She openly stated that she could serve with such duty because she knew that the story did not end with the washing of feet.  The story was routed in the next few days of his death and resurrection that gave her the hope to endure all things.

So it is with much confidence that we here in Enfield as our time of national mourning has just come to an end, that we were able on Monday collectively to commend Queen Elizabeth to God at her state funeral and how we can all in the midst of our wonderful diversity continue to serve this beloved community of Enfield with love and with duty.

As the Archbishop reminded us on Monday, people of loving service are rare in many walks of life.  Leaders of loving service are still rarer but in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power, and privileges are long forgotten. 

The Queen only wrote one preface to a book. It was called “A Servant Queen” and it was written in celebration of her 90th birthday.  She ended that preface with these words. Words from her own late father King George VI. Words that he used as a Christmas message in 1939 - a year of significant challenge and change:

‘I said to the man who stood at the gates of the year - “give me a light and I may travel into the unknown” and he replied “go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That should be to you better than light and safer than a known way”.  So, we use a blessing prayer that was used at the Queens’ state funeral:

“God grant the living grace, to the departed rest, to the church, the King, the Commonwealth and all human-kind, peace and concord and to us and all his servants, life everlasting and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rest upon each and every one of you and upon this glorious Borough, today and always. Amen”

There was no business under this item.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Guney Dogan, Peter Fallart, Stephanos Ioannou, Rick Jewell, Bektas Ozer, Julian Sampson and Jim Steven.

The Mayor welcomed everyone to the Chamber.

The Mayor offered her condolences to the Royal Family and paid tribute to Her Majesty the Queen’s vast achievements.

On behalf of the London Borough of Enfield, the Mayor sent messages of goodwill and support to the new King, King Charles III.

The Mayor’s tribute is as follows:

‘Tonight, marks a momentous occasion in the history of Enfield Council.

Members from all sides of the political spectrum have come together to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, who sadly died on Thursday, 8 September, and to celebrate the accession to the throne of her son, King Charles the Third.

Whilst the death of Her Majesty has saddened me, it has been a great honour for me to play my part as Mayor of Enfield in leading the people of this borough in marking the passing of our Sovereign.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second was a remarkable woman and a remarkable monarch who dedicated 70 years of her life to serving the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth with dedication, grace and dignity.

We were fortunate enough to welcome Queen Elizabeth the Second to Enfield twice – in 1983 and 2003 – when thousands of people turned out to welcome her.

Her visit was the first to Enfield by a reigning monarch since the 16^th century and we were honoured to welcome her here.

She was always popular and well respected by the borough’s residents, and I am sure they share our sense of loss at this time.

Her passing will be keenly felt by the nation for many years to come but we will celebrate her legacy.

In doing so I can confirm Enfield Council will plant a Queen’s tree as a mark of respect and to commemorate the life of Her Majesty whilst looking forward to a long and peaceful reign under His Majesty King Charles the Third.

Much has been said about our new King’s qualities and how he will be a new and modern ruler.

I count myself lucky and enormously honoured to have met King Charles the Third, and his wife, the Queen Consort Camilla, at one of the Queen’s Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace in July 2011.

I was invited alongside my son Jeremiah, who was a cadet in the Royal Air Force at the time and it was an occasion and a memory I will always cherish and look back on with fondness.

Whilst tonight is about celebrating the life of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth the Second, we also look forward to the reign of King Charles the Third as we enter a new era in Britain.

Long Live the King’.

At the invitation of the Mayor, the Council, in memory of Queen Elizabeth II, stood for a minute silence.

At the invitation of the Mayor, the Deputy Lieutenant, Ann Cable, paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was for the majority of the people here and possibly all of us here, the only Monarch that we have known.  We have read about previous Kings and Queens in the history books and so have been aware of them, but this is different. We have lived our lives alongside Her Majesty and through that, perhaps we have a greater and deeper connection with her. Queen Elizabeth came to the throne at just 25, when our country was emerging from the shadow of the war and this nation has grown and developed under her reign and the Commonwealth is the family of nations it is today because of her.   Her late Majesty was the champion of freedom and democracy around the world. She valued all people. She was a symbol of co-operation and reconciliation for us. She represented continuity, certainty, a calm subtle understated leadership with quiet wisdom.  That wisdom and reassurance gave us strength in the most testing times, most recently perhaps in the dark moments of the pandemic but she gave us hope that life would return to some normality again and in her words that “we will meet again”.  Over her reign, she saw unprecedented social, cultural, and technological change - she showed us not to be afraid of change and to a step forward and embrace it.  Her life was, of course, not without unhappiness and troubles but she was steadfast in her duty to her country.  Her strength came from her faith.  Her values, her principles, her steely determination to what was right but in the right way. She was an inspiration to so many, particularly women - a female leader in a still male dominated world of the 50s and 60s, she bridged motherhood with being a Monarch and she also bridged generations, communities and indeed nations. As a Monarch she was someone who was separate, but she wasn't distant. She understood how the visibility of the modern Monarchy was so important for us. Her people to relate to and for us to know and understand. She made those personal connections, she would look you in the eye and there was a genuine interest in her conversation, a tenderness, a real warmth in her smile and that human touch enabled us to relate to her.  There was, of course, the inevitable pomp and pageantry of royal ceremonial, but this was complemented with elements of the everyday and of fun.  Family barbecues, enjoying a day out at the races and I wonder how many of us here would mention tonight the spoof parachute jumps with 007 and tea and marmalade with Paddington Bear.  That good humour, that authentic humility and that human touch was what endeared her to us all. With her singular grace and powerful example of dignity and duty, she was quite simply my inspiration.

It has been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Mayor invited the Leader of the Council, Leader of the Opposition, and all Councillors of the London Borough of Enfield to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and to offer goodwill messages to His Majesty the King.

Cllr Suna Hurman, Deputy Mayor read the poem Floral Tribute.

Evening will come, however determined the late afternoon.

Limes and oaks in their last green flush, pearled in September mist.

I have conjured a lily to light these hours, a token of thanks.

Zones and auras of soft glare framing the brilliant globes.

A promise made and kept for life - that was your gift -

Because of which, here is a gift in return, glovewort to some,

Each shining bonnet guarded by stern lance-like leaves.

The country loaded its whole self into your slender hands,

Hands that can rest, now, relieved of a century’s weight.

Evening has come. Rain on the black locks and dark Munros.

Lily of the Valley, a namesake almost, a favourite flower

Interlaced with your famous bouquets the restrained

Zeal and forceful grace of its lanterns each fluorescent

A silent bill disclosing a singular voice.  A blurred new day

Breaks uncrowned on remote peaks and public parks, and

Everything turned on these luminous petals and deep roots

This Lily that drives between spire and tree, whose brightness

Holds and glows beyond the life and border of its bloom.

Cllr Nesil Caliskan, Leader of the Council

Over the past 10 days the country has mourned the death of the Queen who loyally served our country for more than 70 years.

Our Full Council meeting this evening is an opportunity for members to commentate on an extraordinary life lived, recognising the outstanding service to the people of this country and the Commonwealth, service which is far too difficult to encapsulate in words.

It’s unsurprising that, according to reports, Her Majesty’s funeral was watched by a staggering 28 million people in the UK and as a many as 4 billion worldwide.

As the most recognisable woman in the world, a constant in the lives for most of us, the Queen has been the figurehead that many in our nation turned to for comfort and reassurance at times of uncertainty and distress.

From a World War to a global pandemic, she demonstrated a leadership that millions welcomed, often seeming to find the right words at exactly the right time. And of course, for seven decades, families up and down the country have planned their Christmas dinner around the time that the Queen’s Christmas message would be televised.

Madam Mayor, there is of course a view that disagrees with monarchies as a principle. But there is also an undeniable and an overwhelming affection towards the monarchy in this country, and across the world. Much of that is undoubtedly down to the Queen herself; her kindness, that so many have given testimonies about, and the giving  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Mayor thanked, Councillors, and invited guests for a lovely meeting, and their tributes. Members stood, where able, for the national anthem.

Long live the King.

Wednesday, 12 October 2022 at 7.00pm.

NOTED the next ordinary Council meeting will be held at 7pm  on Wednesday, 12 October 2022.