The Mayor of Leek has asked to be granted another year in the role after Coronavirus restrictions made his first year as Mayor "disappointing".

Independent Cllr Stephen Wales, who represents the Birchall ward and is the town's current Mayor, told Nub News that he would like to keep the position for another year, as Coronavirus restrictions meant he was unable to attend events, hold functions and meet community groups as a Mayor usually would in normal times.

In a column posted to the town council's website today, Cllr Wales called his year as Mayor "disappointing" but added that being the Mayor was "a great honour".

Leek Town Council will meet on May 18th to elect the next Mayor for 2021-2022, and Cllr Wales has thrown his hat in the ring ahead of the meeting.

He told Leek Nub News: "It's been a unique year - I haven't had a lot to do. There are lots of civic duties that year would normally bring, but these have all been missing from the diary because we have all been locked down and not mixing. It's been a very difficult year, but the council has took on the challenge and had Zoom meetings.

"I have been a councillor for six years and supported several mayors, and during their time it has been a fantastic experience for them, meeting all of the different clubs and associations. I was really looking forward to it, but I haven't been able to get to the heart of the town in the same way. I'm quite proactive and I wanted to have a lot of functions."

There is precedent for Mayors holding another year in the position due to Coronavirus, with some local councils around the country agreeing to keep the same Mayor as 2020-2021 for 2021-2022.

Additionally, some Mayors who were elected in 2019-2020 were allowed to keep the position for 2020-2021 due to town councils' annual meetings being cancelled because of Coronavirus restrictions.

If Cllr Wales is not elected as Mayor for another year, the new Mayor will likely be current Deputy Mayor and Labour Cllr Lyn Swindlehurst, due to the tradition at local councils of having the previous year's Deputy Mayor serve as the next Mayor in the following year. However, any nominations will not be confirmed until the meeting on May 18th.

Cllr Wales also mentioned the Mayor of Biddulph, Cllr John Jones, who was replaced by a new Mayor earlier this week, but felt that the situation was not the same as Cllr Jones has been Mayor previously, whereas Cllr Wales has not.

Cllr Wales added: "I would clearly like another year, as there is still so much I want to do, and the time I got to be mayor this year wasn't the best. I was hoping that councillors could see that as being the right thing to do, and then the natural progression could just continue the year after.

"Right now there is a bit of pushing and pulling in the council, and certain factions have been resistant to it, but they will make their minds up at the meeting. If the situation was reversed, I would've given way for a year, because to me it's a no-brainer, but unfortunately I think some people are trying to enforce a different direction. I will of course go with whatever the council decides at the meeting.

"With that being said it's been a real privilege to be mayor in this year as I got to try and help people through the situation we are in. I have been very proud to lead the town, and Leek will recover. You can now see all the bunting and flags around the town and all of our local businesses starting to open back up."

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