The “enduring dignity” of the late Queen Elizabeth II has been marked in the chamber of West Lothian Civic Centre at the first full meeting of the new council.
Leaders of all parties and groups jointly signed a motion of condolence in memory of the Queen who died on September 8 after a reign of 70 years.
The chief executive will express those condolences in a letter to the King.
It was the first meeting in the chamber of the full council since March 2020 and opened with the Provost Cathy Muldoon calling for all to stand in two minutes silence to mark the death of the Queen.
Provost Muldoon welcomed a near full complement of councillors from all parties to the meeting beforehand. After observing the silence. She invited comments from party leaders.
On behalf of the Lib Dems, Councillor Sally Pattle paid tribute to the Queen as a “source of constancy in our lives.”
She added: “The grief felt by many including myself was out of respect for a life well lived and a duty well served but also because the Queen represented a link to our collective past. She represented a link to friends to relatives to loved ones who have gone before. Her death truly is the end of an era. I think her reign will be remembered for a great sense of duty, humility and above all decency and I for one am going to try to be a little bit more queen as I go forward.”
Councillor Damian Doran-Timson, the Conservative group leader, said you just had to look at the number of people who had taken to the streets as The Queen’s body was brought down from Balmoral.
He said: “The whole country saw with the demonstration of grief and love towards the Queen since she passed on 8 September in how high regard she was thought of. Without doubt we will never see the likes of this again. Without doubt we will never see the length of service from a monarch that she gave this country from when she was a princess at the end of the Second World War. Truly an incredibly great monarch and leader to this country. It was an exceptional life of service. She truly led a great life.”
Council leader, Labour’s Lawrence Fitzpatrick remembered “ the massive excitement” in Whitburn as a small boy when the Queen visited the town in 1955 for the crowning of the town’s own gala queen.
He added: “I think the motion says it all, Her Majesty enjoyed an enduring popularity as Head of our Nation, easily able to sustain her role as constitutional Monarch of such a wide and diverse UK and also as Head of The Commonwealth.
“Dignity, charm, diplomacy and gentle authority were her enduring hallmarks.”
Independent Councillor Stuart Borrowman said: “Alongside the personal qualities of decency I think the Queen was a symbol of political tolerance. You can live in the UK and you can disagree with it being the UK. You can disagree with it being a monarchy and that is tolerated.
“In some degree that is a reflection of her personal qualities. It’s part of what has made me a slightly surprised, and slightly surprising monarchist. That reflects her contribution over the last 70 years.”
For the SNP, Councillor Janet Campbell said she would echo remarks made and added that the loss of any life was mostly keenly felt by the person’s family. As group leader she was “more than happy to have signed this motion today and write to the Monarch’s son on behalf of this council and express our condolences for the loss of the Queen.”
The first meeting of the newly elected council took place in June under the lockdown restrictions of the pandemic and was conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Meetings resumed under new hybrid conditions in August.
A new £140,000 audio visual system has been installed to allow councillors and officers to join remotely, The meetings are now also broadcast live on the council’s website and available to view on YouTube.
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