South Kesteven: Scrapping of 'chairman' title rejected by councillors

South Kesteven councillors threw out a move to change the title of 'chairman' to 'presiding person'

Plans to replace the title of "chairman" at a council's meetings with a gender neutral option have been rejected as "woke nonsense".

South Kesteven District Council voted against the proposed title change to "presiding person", with critics saying it had amounted to "policing language".

However, Labour and Independent members at the full council meeting said the move would have promoted equality.

Several female councillors were among those who voted against the change.

Critics had said the current title of chairman gave the post authority.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Councillor Helen Crawford, one opponent of the change, said: "I don't like 'presiding person'. It sounds like I should be a judge with a handkerchief on my head."

While Councillor Sue Woolley said: "I don't think the title demeans anyone. It adds gravitas and there is nothing to be ashamed of about being a chairman."

Councillor Ben Green added: "We must stop this woke nonsense. We should spend half as long talking about the future as we do policing language."

However, other councillors said the title of "chairman" automatically favoured men.

Councillor Louise Clack told the meeting: "The default shouldn't be chairman. I'm a mother and a daughter of a confident woman, and come from a long line of strong women.

"The default setting should be universal, not set by men."

Agreeing with Ms Clack, Councillor Ashley Baxter said: "All this 'woke nonsense' talk is nonsense. It's often used by people who are afraid of change, and used to stop progress towards equality.

"People would have described the Sex and Race Discrimination Acts the same way if that word had been around in the 1970s."

The proposed change to the council's constitution was voted down.