Cllr Elizabeth Campbell addressed the full council meeting as she took office for the third time. During the part of her speech that referred to out-going Deputy Leader Kim Taylor-Smith, Ms Campbell became gripped by emotion. As she considered her political “anchor” and friend and his contribution both to the council and to her personally, her voice cracked, tears flowed, and she became inaudible. After reaching for a glass of water, Ms Campbell gathered composure and continued. Here is her speech in full..

 

Madam Mayor,

Can I just say… welcome to your new role.

It is fantastic to see such an esteemed and popular colleague in the chair, and you look resplendent in your…

…to borrow an American term…

…new threads…

And to fellow councillors across the chamber.

Welcome.

To those that are new…

Don’t worry.

I know how it feels.

…it’s like starting at a new school

…you might be worried about the teacher asking you to speak in front of the class.

…you might be worried about the homework you will be set.

But, on your first day…

… if you can figure out where to sit

…make some friends

…know your enemies…

You should just about get through…

Madam Mayor

It is the start of a new term.

Let me start by saying how wonderful it is to be stood here again.

Third time. But not by luck.

To be returned as leader of this council is not something I take lightly.

It is not a title.

It is not a prize.

It is a responsibility

And one that I accept with humility, with energy, and with a very clear understanding of what the people of Kensington and Chelsea are asking of us.

So let me start where I always believe we should start. With a thank you.

To every resident who cast their vote in this election – whether you voted Conservative, whether you voted for another party, or whether you came to the polls uncertain and hoping to be convinced – thank you.

You engaged.

You participated.

And in doing so, you reminded us that local democracy matters, that what happens in this chamber matters.

To those who did vote Conservative — thank you for your confidence.

We know it must be earned, every single day, through the decisions we make and the service we deliver.

So what did residents tell us at this election?

They told us something important.

Something that, if we are honest, politics sometimes forgets.

They did not come to the doorstep asking for grand visions or headline-grabbing announcements.

They came with the things that matter in daily life.

They came asking: is my street clean?

Are the parks looked after?

Is my bin collected?

Is the council there when I need it — and does it actually sort things out?
Madam Mayor

They want the basics done brilliantly.

And that is exactly what we will do.

Our manifesto made clear promises rooted in that exact same principles.

Cleaner streets.

Better maintained public spaces.

Faster, more responsive services.

A council that spends public money carefully and wisely.

A housing service that treats people with dignity and gets repairs done properly, first time.

These are not small things.

Done well, day after day, they are the entire foundation of what a good local authority looks like.

We will not be distracted by noise.

We will not be drawn into the kind of politics that prioritises announcement over delivery.

Kensington and Chelsea does not need to reinvent itself.

It needs to be excellent at what it does – and under my leadership, it will be.

I am proud of the team around me.

I am proud of the officers of this council, who serve residents with professionalism and dedication regardless of who sits in the leader’s chair.

And I am proud of every Conservative councillor who knocked on doors, listened to residents, and stood on a platform of practical, caring, competent local government.

But I want to take a moment now, and I hope you will forgive me if this becomes a little personal, to speak about someone who will not be sitting beside me in this new administration.

After nearly a decade as Deputy Leader of this council, Councillor Kim Taylor-Smith has decided to step back.

And I want this chamber, and everyone watching, to understand what that means.

Not procedurally.

Not structurally.

But what it means.

Kim took on the housing brief in 2017.

He did so in the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire…

…the most devastating and heartbreaking event in this borough’s history.

There is no way to describe adequately what it asked of him.

To sit with families who had lost everything.

To navigate the grief, the anger, the trauma – not at arm’s length, not through briefing notes, but face to face, week after week, year after year.

To make decisions about housing and community in the shadow of such tragedy, knowing that every decision carried a weight that most of us in public life will never fully understand.

He did it because he cared.

Not because he was asked to build a career from it.

Not because it suited a particular ambition or profile.

But because there were people who needed someone to show up – and he showed up.

He didn’t get it right every time, and he would never suggest he did.

But he did give the role everything he had.

Every single time.

Kim is not a politician.

And I mean that as the highest compliment I know how to give.

He never sought the limelight.

He was never interested in how something would play, how it would be covered, or what it would do for his standing.

He just asked: what is the right thing to do, and how do we do it?

And then he got on with it.

Quietly, consistently, without fanfare.

In an age when politics too often attracts people who are focused on their own progression…

…Kim is proof that the most important work is usually done by the people who never once thought about themselves while they were doing it.

He achieved so much precisely because he was simply himself.

A decent, warm, principled human being who cared about people.

And now I want to say something that goes beyond the professional.

Kim has been my deputy.

But more than that, he has been my friend.

My anchor, in moments when I have needed one.

He has a quality that I think is rarer than any political skill…

…he always knew.

He always knew when something was weighing on me, when the pressure was building, when I needed someone to say the right thing at exactly the right moment.

And he always found a way to do it.

Not with grand gestures.

Not with long conversations (most of the time…)

Just with his presence, his positivity, and the particular kindness that is entirely and unmistakably his own.

I will miss his guidance more than I can say.

I will miss his instinct, his humour, and his steadiness.

The chair beside mine will feel different.

This council will feel different.

And I want him to know — truly know — how grateful I am.

Not just on behalf of this chamber, not just on behalf of the residents he served so faithfully, but personally.

As his friend.

Kim, thank you.

For your work on Grenfell.

For your work on housing.

For nine years of doing this the right way…

…and for every quiet moment when you knew exactly what I needed.

Madame Mayor

Kensington and Chelsea is a remarkable place.

It is diverse, creative, challenging, and proud.

Its residents deserve a council that matches their ambitions — not with rhetoric, but with results.

We got the basics right before.

We will get them right again.

I am honoured to lead this team and this council.

And we intend to make it count.

Thank you.

 

All photos ©Rob McGibbon |The Chelsea Citizen