LevellerLive

At last night’s meeting of Langport Town Council the resignation of Chris Osborne was announced. Chris had served the town council for 43 years and been the chair of the council for 10. Many local people will be aware that Chris has not been in the best of health over the last couple of years but he had hoped to soldier on for at least one more term. He is not one to do things frivolously. Current chair of the Town Council Janet Seaton noted that “His length of service was an outstanding record of his commitment to the people of Langport. We will be seeking to mark his service in an appropriate way, but in the meantime we wish him well. His depth of experience will be sorely missed, but as he said himself in his letter of resignation, “if we need to ask his advice, he’s only a phone call away.”

Chris was not always subtle and at times he could offend, but I always found him honest and straight talking. These virtues need to be held precious in our modern political climate where meaning is often lost in a stream of pomposity. Political correctness was certainly not top of his list of virtues, but he was good at getting things done and as chairman, his practical approach was invaluable.

Chris’s resignation follows that of Robert Webb in 2011 at the end of 51 years of service. I suspect in these fast changing times when loyalty and public service appear to be commodities that society values less than it might,that we will not see such service again. It is the end of an era and I for one would like to thank Chris for his enormous contribution and his record of service to his community.

The resignation creates a vacancy on the town council and 10 electors must now request an election in writing to the Proper Officer of South Somerset District Council at The Council Offices, Brympton Way, Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 2HT by 28 July 2015 if there is to be one. Failing that the Town Council will be obliged proceed to fill the vacancy by co-option.