Reading is not a place renowned for its cross-party harmony, and when I learned the shocking news that Cllr Jim Hanley had died, very suddenly, earlier today aged just 51, I wanted to point out the loss not just to his partner and family but to Reading’s body politic.
Living in Katesgrove when I first won the ward, Jim, a Labour councillor for Whitley originally from Wales, never had a bad word to say about others – regardless of politics. He was an effective, diligent, informal Chair of Planning and Scrutiny.
This time last week I saw Jim in his element, on a planning site visit, in someone’s back garden. He had dug out his old copies of the plans and was busy talking colleagues through them in some detail. Never one to go off on wild rants in the Council chamber or to indulge in personal attacks, I will genuinely miss him. There are all too few in Reading politics at present who are genuinely liked across the party divide. Jim was one, and for him to depart at age 51 is truly awful.
