Tributes were paid to two former councillors who died, as well as Lambeth residents lost to COVID-19 at the council’s annual meeting.  

Labour councillors Ted Knight, a controversial former council leader and socialist, and John O’Malley, both passed away recently, while councillors also paid tribute during the virtual meeting on Wednesday (April 22) to a shop worker who died from COVID-19.

Mr Knight was leader during the rate-capping rebellion of the Thatcher era, a response to the Conservative Government’s plans to restrict councils’ spending, while Mr O’Malley served as councillor for Clapham Town. 

Rebelling councils said they would not set a budget, hoping the Government would be forced to intervene to pay for services.  

But the campaign failed, with Lambeth and Liverpool the last councils to give in.  

Lambeth was subject to an audit which found it had lost interest on tax payments as a result of the “wilful misconduct” of Mr Knight and 31 other councillors, including Mr O’Malley. 

Lambeth’s leader Cllr Jack Hopkins said: “Our thoughts are with the families of our former councillors who between them held a number of years together at times in Lambeth history.  

“Of course our staff, two of whom passed away, and residents in the borough who have passed away.  

“Our time on the council has been different to both John and Ted and I certainly think the contribution they’ve made to the borough, whether you agree with it or not, has been long-lasting and we should recognise that.” 

Gipsy Hill ward Councillor Pete Elliott, from the Green Party, thanked all those working hard in essential roles during the pandemic.  

“There has been too much death in London over the last couple of months and especially in Lambeth,” he said.  

Cllr Elliott paid tribute to Kumar, who worked for years at Freshgo by Gipsy Hill Station.  

“He will be missed by the many residents around the area who use the shop.  

“Everyone who works there is always so friendly. His death is an example of people in what were previously viewed as ordinary jobs doing extraordinary things every day to keep us all going.  

“We need to wake up to the inequalities all around us in life, which have been dramatically highlighted by the pandemic,” he said.  

He described Mr Knight as a “sincere man who spoke from the heart”.  

“All his life he fought for people who were not financially wealthy, and those who needed support.  

“He listened to residents, he understood them, and he acted.  

“During his time in charge of Lambeth Council, there were massive protests in the streets of Lambeth. 

“[…] He stood up to Margaret Thatcher, and her attempts to remove power and finance from local government.  

“Ted didn’t just moan about it, he acted and won the support of residents to his own cost.  

“Throughout his life, Ted acted and gave people a voice, a very powerful voice right up to the end.  

“Two big holes have been left in Gipsy Hill and my thoughts go out to everyone affected by their passing at this really tough time for all of us,” Cllr Elliott said.  

Conservative Councillor Tim Briggs said he was “very sorry” for Mr O’Malley and his family.  

He said Mr Knight was an impressive man “in many ways”.  

“I went to a husting he put together for the Lambeth Pensioners Action group two years ago.  

“In many ways he was a very impressive man, even at this husting he would stand up and he would shake his fist and urge comrades to act. He was driven by a sense of what was right.  

“He was a sincere man, he had sincere views that he held closely. And he was always polite to me, which counts for a lot, more than you might think. He was a fighter in very difficult times.” 

But he added: “I have to be honest with you, he entrenched generations of Lambeth residents in poverty, he created an ideology of victimhood that still endures today.  

“By not setting a budget, he set back Lambeth as a borough for many, many decades.  

“But I don’t want to wish him ill, and there are many positives.” 

The council observed a minute of silence for the two men and all those who died from coronavirus in the borough.