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Rodney Martin Dumaresq Bennett (born 1934) is a broadcaster, writer, and local politician. He came from naval background; his father, Geoffrey Bennett, was a novelist and naval historian (he used the middle initial to avoid confusion with namesakes).
Educated at Hoe Place and Allhallows Schools, after national service in the Royal Navy where he spent a year in south and west Africa, he obtained a trainee post with the BBC. In twelve years he worked as a studio manager, announcer, and scriptwriter in Singapore and a producer in the Archives and African services. He then spent two years as Senior English Producer in Ethiopia with the Lutheran church international Radio ETLF and a year in the African English service of West German overseas broadcasting.
Through the 1980s he freelanced for BBC, in particular on the BBC World Service, and published a book "The Archer-Shees Against the Admiralty" which was a factual account of the Archer-Shee case upon which Terence Rattigan based his play The Winslow Boy. [1] His research unearthed the original five-shilling postal order which caused the problem. He also contributed many articles to the classical magazine Music and Musicians. Then in the 1980s he was a reporter for the London commercial news station LBC, mainly of the flagship breakfast-time 'AM' programme.
Interested in politics, he joined the Young Conservatives in 1960 and two years later was elected to Kensington Borough Council from Brompton Ward. [2] In 1964, after the reorganisation of London local government, he was elected as a member of Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council for Pembridge Ward. He resigned his seat on 5 April 1967 when he went abroad.
Though Conservative he was also an active trade unionist, and served as Secretary of the Central London programme branch on the Association of Broadcasting Staff which looked after programme staff in the Broadcasting House area. When freelance, he was Chairman of the Association's freelance division, where he campaigned vigorously against the BBC's practice of withholding contacts until after a programme had been broadcast. In retirement, he was secretary of the union BECTU's History project and given life membership of this union. Arising from this he was active in the Conservative Trade Unionist movement and was Chairman of the London Area for several years in the 1990s.
After retirement in 1990 he moved to Richmond, London and became active in local politics, serving on Richmond upon Thames Council 2002–2010 as Conservative councillor for South Richmond ward. He took a special interest in planning. Always a staunch eurosceptic, he was active in the Campaign for a British Referendum over the Maastricht Treaty in 1993.
A passionate opera lover he has a significant collection of operatic memorabilia, some items from the 18th century.
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in England. The others are the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Greenwich, and Windsor and Maidenhead, the site of Windsor Castle. The local authority is Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the United Kingdom. It includes affluent areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge.
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The homes for votes scandal was a gerrymandering controversy involving the Conservative-led Westminster City Council in London. In marginal wards, the Council was starting to move the homeless elsewhere, and sell off council homes to groups who were more likely to vote Conservative. On investigation, the policy was ruled to be illegal, and it was revealed that some of the homeless had been rehoused in condemned accommodation. Former leader of the Council Dame Shirley Porter was found guilty of wilful misconduct and ordered to repay £36.1m. In view of her personal circumstances, a payment of £12.3 million was eventually accepted.
Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Kensington and Chelsea is divided into 18 wards, each electing either two or three councillors. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Kensington Metropolitan Borough Council and Chelsea Metropolitan Borough Council.
Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London, the United Kingdom capital. Richmond upon Thames is divided into 18 wards and elections for all Council seats in the borough are held every four years. The most recent election was in 2022 when the Liberal Democrats, led by Gareth Roberts, retained overall majority control of the council for a second consecutive term.
Sir Cyril Julian Hebden Taylor was a British educator and social entrepreneur, who founded the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) in 1964. He served as an education reformer and special adviser to successive elected British Governments from 1987 to 2007 and founded the City Technology Colleges Trust, subsequently the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT).
The 2018 London local elections took place in London on 3 May 2018 as part of wider local elections in England. All London borough councillor seats were up for election. Elections to the Corporation of London were held in 2017. Mayoral contests were also held in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets. The previous London borough elections were in 2014.
David Timothy Simmonds is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he is a former councillor on Hillingdon London Borough Council, having served from 1998 to 2022.
The 2022 Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council election was held on 5 May 2022. All 50 members of Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.
The 2022 Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. All 54 members of Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council were elected. The elections took place alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom.
Anthony Roger Kerpel is a British retired politician and adviser who served as the personal assistant to Prime Minister Edward Heath, special adviser to Conservative Chairman Kenneth Baker from 1986 to 1992 and adviser to South African State President F. W. de Klerk from 1993 to 1994.