TRIBUTES have been paid following the death of former Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber. He was 84.

Mr Thornber stood down as council leader in 2013 but carried on as a councillor, notching 40 years with the authority. He died after a short illness.

Leading the tributes, current leader Roy Perry said: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ken Thornber. He was a hugely respected politician, both locally and nationally, and a public servant in the truest sense of the word.

“Ken played a pivotal role in the political and decision-making process in Hampshire – serving the people of the county with diligence and commitment for many years. He cared very much about the divisions that he represented during his four decades of public service. He was equally passionate about the whole of the county, the importance of local government and of public service.

“He was also a voice for local government on the national stage, with roles as chairman of the County Councils Network and the Local Government Association’s resources committee. He championed new ways of working in local government, introducing a voluntary partnership to bring public services in the county together.

One of his many personal innovations was the commission he set up in Hampshire on adult social care which became a landmark for national policy development.”

Mr Perry added: “I am very pleased that the county council agreed to bestow on Ken the highest accolade at our discretion, that of Honorary Alderman, at our council meeting. On behalf of my colleagues at the county council, we send our thoughts and heartfelt condolences to his family at this very sad time.”

During his 40 years, Mr Thornber served on every main committee of the county council with the exception of planning and transportation. He served on many panels and sub-committees and chaired the pension fund panel, the buildings, land and procurement panel, and the personnel sub-committee. He was also vice-chairman of the Police Authority of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and a former chairman of the Hampshire Ambulance Services NHS Trust.

He represented Hampshire County Council on numerous outside bodies, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Government Association, Hampshire Gardens Trust, Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum Trust Board, South East England Regional Assembly, and the New Forest National Park Authority.

Mr Thornber had long been a voice for local government on a national stage.

In April 2006, he was appointed as the first chairman of the Innovation Forum, whose membership was drawn from top-performing local authorities across the country to promote creative dialogue between central and local government and its partners, on new ways of working to deliver better services to local communities.

In 1993, he was awarded the CBE for services to politics and the public. And his lifelong and distinguished contribution to the public life in Hampshire was again recognised in 2005 when he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Winchester University in the context of health and policing, as well as his work with Hampshire County Council.

Mr Thornber served as a county councillor until May 2017 and he was made Honorary Alderman by unanimous agreement of the full council last Thursday, the award received on his behalf by former councillor Pat West as Mr Thornber was too ill to attend in person.

A graduate from Strathclyde University with a business degree, Mr Thornber was a management consultant by profession, and worked for the Philips organisation, Price Waterhouse and Unilever, travelling the world for the latter. He was also author of CBI publication ‘Managing Change – The Organisation of Work’.