Moving tributes have been paid to former Nottinghamshire County Council chairman, Councillor Roger Jackson, during today’s Full Council.
Jackson, who sadly died after a long battle with cancer in July, represented the Southwell Division for the Conservative Party for more than 10 years and was county council chairman in 2022-23.
Councillors observed a minute’s silence in memory of Cllr Jackson, who was a well-known and popular farmer in Gonalston, and remembered him as a champion of the communities he tirelessly served.
His wife Jilly, daughter-in-law, Charlotte, and grandson, Jude, watched on from the public gallery as tributes were paid to him.
Cllr Sam Smith, the Conservative Group Leader at the county council, described him as a ‘fantastic, dedicated and wonderful’ county councillor who was ‘always pushing to get things done’ for his communities.
He said: “He was always proud of the rural communities: he was always championing them and always supporting them.
“But I’ll tell you what the measure of the man is, two days before his sad passing he dialled into a council meeting and was focused on delivering for the Southwell division.
“That’s the measure of the man and that’s the measure of my friend Roger, dedicated, hard-working and the most honourable man you could wish to meet.
“I will miss my friend Roger, and I will miss waving to him on the A46 as he was bouncing up and down on his tractor. We will miss his dedication to Southwell, and his communities will miss him.”
County council leader, Cllr Mick Barton, described Cllr Jackson as an ‘absolute gentleman’ and a ‘massive community man’.
He said: “I did go to his funeral and there’s not many people in Nottinghamshire that could fill Southwell Minster, but Roger did. That was the measure of the man.
“He will be sorely missed, and our thoughts, prayers and love go out to his colleagues in this chamber, his family who are here and his community.”
During his year as chairman, Cllr Jackson successfully raised more than £27,000 for the Nottingham Ukrainian Cultural Centre – part of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.
Cllr Steve Carr, of the Broxtowe Independent Group, paid tribute to his work with the Ukrainian community in Nottinghamshire following the Russian invasion in 2022 and highlighted the ‘love’ felt for him from those he helped and supported.
He added: “He was a fantastic man and I’m going to say it: British politics could do with a lot more Roger Jacksons, it really could. He was an absolute gentleman.”
Cllr Penny Gowland, of the Labour Group, said: “I knew him best as the chairman of this council. He was chairman when meetings could be really fiery and he was the ideal person to chair those meetings.
“He was fair, he was calm, he was on the ball, he was patient and most importantly he was kind. My greatest sympathy to his family and friends.”
Councillor Jackson also served on Newark and Sherwood District Council for more than 23 years, where he had held senior roles including vice-chairman and Portfolio Holder for Cleaner, Safer, Greener.
