THE Slough Labour Group has elected its first-ever Sikh leader and female leadership team following its brutal defeat last week.
Slough Labour Group have chosen Cllr Pavitar Kaur Mann (Britwell) to be their new leader and Cllr Christine Hulme (Herschel Park) to be her deputy following Tuesday’s annual general meeting.
Cllr Mann, who will take over from James Swindlehurst after he lost his council seat, is the first Sikh leader of the group and is the first woman to head up the Slough Labour Group in over 35 years.
Along with her deputy, this will also be the first-ever all-female leadership team of a major political group in the borough’s history.
Cllr Mann, who was Slough Council’s deputy leader and lead member for planning, said she was “humbled” to be chosen as the group’s new leader, albeit not in the circumstances she may have wished for.
Labour lost their grip on the council following the crushing results of the election, resulting in the council to go to no overall control.
READ MORE: Slough local election 2023: Meet your new councillors
The current political make-up of the council is 21 Conservative, 18 Labour, and three Lib Dems.
Cllr Mann said she was “saddened” that some of her colleagues were not elected but is determined to hold the new administration to account and rebuild trust with voters.
She said: “I am, however, proud to form – along with Cllr Hulme – the borough’s first-ever female leadership team for a major party locally. That the Conservative Group includes just four women is a shocking statistic that has taken the council back by years and lets down all women in Slough.
“Slough is my hometown. From the excellent education I received here to the strong, cohesive community that enabled my family and I to thrive, Slough has made me who I am today. I look forward to working in partnership with our residents, community groups and partners in setting out our vision for the town and giving residents the confidence to trust us to lead again.”
READ MORE: Slough Labour suffer brutal defeat as it loses grip on the council
Cllr Hulme, who was previously the lead member for children’s services, added: “We now embark upon the work of rebuilding trust, speaking up for working people and holding the new administration accountable for the plethora of uncosted, unviable and unworkable promises they have made to the electorate.”
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