CALLS have been made for a female portrait to be hung in Staffordshire County Council’s chamber following a campaign by a Lichfield councillor.
Cllr Janice Silvester-Hall has worked to create a showcase in the corridors of County Buildings highlighting women who made their mark in loal politics, science and education.
Among those to appear are Daisy Stuart Shaw, the first female member of Lichfield City Council.
Cllr Silvester-Hall told a meeting of the county council:
“As you made your way into the chamber, you would have walked past the pictures of notable women of Staffordshire from yesteryear, covering a range of areas including politics, farming, nursing, teaching and more.
“As well as the photographs you can read descriptions of their contributions to the communities within Staffordshire.
“If you haven’t had the opportunity to do so, take a closer look as you make your way out of the chamber. It’s an absolutely fascinating read.”
Cllr Charlotte Atkins said she was “pleased” to see the new display – but asked whether more could be done to highlight the role of women.
She said:
“I’m hoping that perhaps – looking around these portraits of esteemed gentlemen [in the main council chamber], maybe one day we could have an esteemed lady in a portrait?
“I wonder if there are any plans to do just that? I get a bit fed up seeing all these esteemed gentlemen who I have very little idea about, so I am pleased there are notes on the portraits of the women downstairs to tell us what their contribution is.
“I would ask, give us one – or even two – portraits of esteemed ladies. It would really lighten the atmosphere in here I think and I would propose that be taken forward by the next council.”
Cllr Ian Parry said:
“I very much support the idea of a re-hanging in here – it’s really long overdue.
“I’m sure there are lots of suitable former members of this council that could be hung to make this place a bit brighter than it is now.”
Councillor Victoria Wilson, cabinet member for communities and culture, told members the inclusion of portraits of notable Staffordshire women in the council chamber had been investigated.
She added:
“That work is ongoing and hopefully going into the next administration we will be able to investigate that more fully.
“I have to say that historically there weren’t many of them that were actually painted.
“Also, because of planning regulations, there are difficulties as well with swapping these paintings over.”
Cllr Janet Eagland said:
“I would like to say thank you to my colleague for drawing everyone’s attention to the gentlemen pictured on this wall – and at least we’ve got some representation down on the ground floor.
“That’s where everyone comes in, so they probably see more of them than they see of these guys sitting on our walls.”
Council leader Cllr Alan White said:
“Cllr Eagland is quite right – they will get seen by far, far more people than these old duffers in this room.
“I would also say – and it’s not an excuse – that I understand this place is Grade II* Listed, which means you can’t even polish a door without planning permission, so I’m not quite sure how it works with the portraits on the wall.
“The first female chair of Staffordshire County Council was Erica Bayliss. The council had existed at that point for 120 years and it didn’t matter who was in control of the council before that, no woman had found her way into the chair.
“We put Erica Bayliss in the chair in 2010 and she did a wonderful job. Maybe it’s her portrait that goes up?”
Here’s a better idea – stop wasting time and money on things like this that have no impact on residents’ quality of life and instead focus on matters that do. Potholes, for instance.
Can someone find Councillor Sylvester Hall some proper essential work to do for a change as she seems to have a lot of time on her hands every time I read about her. As a taxpayer and someone who contributes to her salary and has just found out I’m being ripped off again I mean having an increase in my council tax bill for the new financial year it’s only fair to want Councillors to get important things sorted out and fixed or is that just wishful thinking.
Scott councillors are not salaried they just get expenses
Scotto, you obviously have no idea of how hard she was worked for the council. She has often picked up the hot potatoes no one else would go near, and put more hours in than most of her contemporaries. What have you contributed?