Grantham churches to open doors to homeless this winter

Nearly half of Lincolnshire County Council’s ruling group will be new faces following the latest election results.

The Conservative’s retained control of the authority following the polls on Thursday with 54 out of 70 seats to their name.

The number is the same as the party went into the election with, however, down by four on the 2017 election results due to some party members leaving or switching sides.

The results, however, saw the loss of Executive Councillor for Culture and Emergency Services Nick Worth and Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management Barry Young, both of who stepped down to retire and were replaced in their wards by Conservative councillors Tracey Carter and Robert Gibson respectively.

Eddy Poll, Executive Councillor for Commercial and Environmental Management, who was voted out and replaced on the authority by South Holland Independent Robert Gibson, is not on the LCC cabinet either.

Now council leader Martin Hill has announced his new executive team for the next four years. The new team will include nine councillors rather than the previous eight, and as part of it some roles have also been moved around between councillors.

It will see existing members Councillor Hill and Councillors Patricia Bradwelll, Richard Davies, Colin Davie and Sue Woolley joined by Councillors Richard Butroid, Wendy Bowkett, Lindsey Cawrey and Danny McNally.

Conservative leader of Lincolnshire County Council Martin Hill after his party won enough seats to retain control.

All four were re-elected to their ward seats in Thursday’s election.

Councillor Hill said: “I’m pleased to announce the make-up of the new executive and the councillors who will be leading the services we provide for the people of Lincolnshire.

“I’m very pleased the hard work of candidates and Conservative councillors of the past four years has been recognised and rewarded and I look forward to the next four years.

“I’m confident the council will serve the public of this county as best it can.”

He said the authority had a “very strong manifesto” and repeated previous promises of building and developing roads, schools and broadband as well as tackling potholes and fly-tipping and campaigning for more funding.

Councillors Barry Young and Nick Worth stepped down for the 2021 elections, while Councillor Eddy Poll lost his seat at the vote.

The new council also includes three district council leaders, with Councillor Kelham Cooke (South Kesteven) and Richard Wright (North Kesteven) joining Councillor Paul Skinner (Boston) in the chamber.

The full list of executive group members is:

• Martin Hill: Leader and executive member for Resources, Communications and Commissioning
• Patricia Bradwell: Deputy leader and executive member for Children’s Services, Community Safety and Procurement
• Richard Davies: Executive Member for Highways, Transport and IT
• Colin Davie: Executive Member for Economic Development, Environment and Planning
• Sue Woolley: Executive Member for NHS Liaison, Community Engagement, Registration and Coroners
• Richard Butroid: Executive Member for People Management, Legal and Corporate Property
• Wendy Bowkett: Executive Member for Adult Care and Public Health
• Lindsey Cawrey: Executive Member for Fire & Rescue and Cultural Services
• Danny McNally: Executive Member for Waste and Trading Standards

A special 100th birthday portrait of the last living Dambuster, Lincolnshire-born George “Johnny” Johnson, has been unveiled and put up for public auction.

Dan Llywelyn Hall sat with Johnny in Bristol in 2018 before inviting him to an exhibition of all the Dambusters’ portraits he’d made for the 75th anniversary of the Dams Raid.

May 16, 2021 marks the 78th anniversary since the Dams Raid, which is widely regarded as one of the most audacious operations in military history. 133 men set off in 19 Lancasters to destroy Adolf Hitler’s power-generating dams, but sadly 53 did not return. The story went on to inspire the popular Dambusters film.

The ‘Last of the Dambusters’ portrait of Johnny will be on display at Roger Jones auction house in Cardiff and be in a public auction at 10.30am on May 14.

Proceeds will benefit the charity 617 Group, which Johnny Johnson is president of and he is due to turn 100 years old on November 25 this year.

Artist Dan Llywelyn Hall sitting with George “Johnny” Johnson in Bristol in 2018. | Photo: Richard Brewis

Llywelyn Hall was the youngest artist to portray the Queen in 2013 and in 2009 he painted a portrait of the Last Tommy – Harry Patch. He has also painted portraits of popular entertainers such as Amy Winehouse and Barbara Windsor, as well as the Duke of Cambridge.

He said: “There is something poignant in depicting the last of a generation. Johnny – has with great eloquence – been a spokesman for his comrades about this contentious moment in history- and with asserted moral justification.

“This portrait marks that moment of a man at a milestone, the last voice.

“None of Bomber Command doing Churchill’s dirty work were properly recognised with a medal and the question remains: As a result, the likes of Johnny have had to make the moral argument for themselves as this slight of public recognition eluded them.”

The full portrait of George “Johnny” Johnson. | Portrait: Dan Llywelyn Hall

Johnny Johnson, who was born in Hameringham near Horncastle in 1921, said he “enthusiastically recognises” himself in the artist’s work and said with an approving smile that it’s “typical” of Dan’s portraits.

He said: “I look forward to my century and I am honoured to still be able to represent the men who went on the Dams Raid.

“It would be excellent if a new petition could finally see Bomber Command finally recognised with a medal.”

Speaking in 2018 after being given a consolation ribbon, he said: “Mine is still in the box, and there it will stay until we get a medal.”

People aged 38 to 39 will be able to book their COVID-19 vaccines from Thursday, as the Prime Minister announced a public inquiry into the pandemic response and a new commission to honour lost loved ones.

Bookings for vaccinations will open on May 13, and 38 and 39-year-olds can sign up for their appointment on the NHS website.

The Prime Minister appeared before the House of Commons on Wednesday to confirm an independent inquiry would be launched in Spring 2022 to examine the government’s response to the pandemic over the past year-and-a-half.

Speaking to MPs, Mr Johnson told the chamber: “There is a solemn duty on the whole United Kingdom to come together and cherish the memories of those who have been lost.”

He said he had been “deeply moved” during his visit to the COVID Memorial Wall opposite Parliament and supported a more permanent feature in St Paul’s Cathedral.

However, he added: “I also know that communities across the whole country will want to find ways of commemorating what we have all been through.”

The new commission will support efforts to: “remember loved ones we have lost; honour the heroism of those who have saved lives and the courage of frontline workers who have kept our country going; celebrate the genius which created the vaccines; and commemorate the small acts of kindness, and the sacrifice of millions who stayed at home buying time for our scientists to come to our rescue.”

Mr Jonson said the “right moment” for the public inquiry was Spring 2022 and said lessons must be learned together.

Consultation will take place with the devolved nations so the inquiry can consider “all key aspects of the UK response”.

He added the inquiry “must not divert or distract the people on whom we depend at the peak of our struggle”, he said.

“The end of lockdown is not the end of the pandemic,” he said.

“The World Health Organisation has said that the pandemic has now reached its global peak and will last throughout this year.

“Our own scientific advisors judge that although more positive data is coming in and the outlook is improving, there could still be another resurgence in hospitalisations and deaths,” he added.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking to the House of Commons on May 12.

The prime minister said no public inquiry could take place fast enough to assist with the difficult judgements that will remain throughout the rest of the year.

He says: “This process will place the state’s actions under the microscope” and the time and efforts that people will have to go to to give evidence will put a “significant burden” on the NHS, the government, scientific advisors and many others.

He added the inquiry must be able to look at the events over the past year in “the cold light of day” and identify issues which will make a difference in the future.

The inquiry will be free “to scrutinise every document, to hear from all the key players,” he said. “That’s the right way to get the answers that the people of this country deserve.”