Alderman John Bartlett – A True Visionary

Alderman John Bartlett, former Leader of the Hillingdon Council, died peacefully in his sleep on 30th May 2013.

John pioneered some worthwhile initiatives during his term as Council Leader, such as mixing owner-occupiers with Council tenants, developing cultural public facilities such as an ultra-modern Civic Centre, celebrating cultural diversity and building housing to meet future needs.

Unquestionably, his administrations’ policies were considered revolutionary at the time and not altogether popular in some quarters and as a consequence attracted national controversy.

Looking back it is clear that many of those policies were ahead of their time.  It should be remembered that an awful lot has changed since those days and that some of the pioneering policies that attracted such negativity in the 1970’s have now been embraced by most local authorities in one form or another since then.

John Bartlett was a true visionary and a great Leader.  We in the Labour Group and the wider Labour family in Hillingdon mourn his loss and offer our condolences to his wife Margaret and family at this very sad time.