A poignant meeting of Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) included awards for a number of long serving councillors.

A motion to make former Cllr Liz Harrington an Honorary Alderman of Stevenage was passed, while Cllrs Jackie Hollywell, Graham Snell and Jeannette Thomas received awards for their long service.

Labour's Liz Harrington was first elected to Stevenage Borough Council in 1992, when she won the election in Monkswood ward.

She switched to the new ward of Bedwell in 1999 after boundary changes, and continued to represent the residents there until 2023, when she stepped down due to ill health.

Her dedication throughout 31 years of service was marked at a Special Council meeting earlier this month, with council leader Cllr Richard Henry proposing a motion to make her an Honorary Alderman of Stevenage.

He described Liz as "straight-speaking, challenging, forthright and fun, a committed democratic socialist to her very roots", and said "she enjoyed taking part in scrutiny work on housing, environment and community issues".

Cllr Michael Downing seconded the motion, and recalled that he had first met Liz around 1980, while he was launching a campaign against public service cuts in his role as president of Stevenage TUC.

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It was launched at Bedwell Community Centre - "the centre of all subversive activity in those days!" - and Liz became one of those who volunteered to join the campaign.

It was not the only campaign group to enjoy Liz's dedication. Cllr Downing remembered that she was "a very committed member of CND [Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament] ... that was one of her great passions", and Cllr Joan Lloyd mentioned Liz's participation in the Greenham Common Protests against nuclear weapons.

Cllr Downing continued with his reminisces, recalling that Liz joined "the campaign of support for the miners' strike in 1984, when we entertained the minority of Nottinghamshire miners who were striking" - and it even led to romance, as Liz's niece married one of the miners.

After Liz combined forces with Cllr Downing on SBC, he recalled that they became known as "the Bedwell Mafia" - a term they soon adopted "as a term of honour".

The leaders of the other party groups also paid tribute to Liz, with Cllr Robin Parker (Lib) stating that she had "diligently represented the residents of Bedwell", and Cllr Phil Bibby (Con) lauding her hard work as somebody who is "always willing to challenge the status quo".

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Liz Harrington will officially become an Honorary Alderman of Stevenage later this year after the motion passed with the required two thirds majority.

After the Special Council meeting, a regular meeting of SBC began with a minute's silence for the late Luke Donovan, who served as chair of the Irish Network Stevenage.

The current mayor, Cllr Myla Arceno, then presented long service awards to several councillors.

Cllr Jackie Hollywell (Lab, Symonds Green) and Cllr Graham Snell (Lib Dem, Manor) were presented with certificates marking 25 years each of service, while Cllr Jeannette Thomas (Lab, Pin Green) was presented with a certificate marking 20 years of service.