The politician set to be the next mayor of Dudley says becoming the borough's first citizen is an honour he never expected. At Dudley Council's Annual General Meeting on May 28, Councillor Pete Lowe will be installed as mayor for the next civic year, with Councillor Adam Aston as deputy mayor.
Both men are former leaders of the Labour group on the council. Councillor Lowe currently leads The Black Country Party, which has three Dudley councillors.
An unexpected honour
Councillor Lowe said: "I think it is relatively well known across the whole council that the position of mayor was never a position I either sought to take or coveted in any way, shape or form. It's an incredible honour I never thought I would be in a position to do. I have found myself getting quite emotional."
The former leader of the council was on his way to a family holiday after the local elections when he received a call from council leader Councillor Patrick Harley, offering him the role. This was followed by a call from Labour's group leader, Councillor Shaukat Ali, confirming his support for the nomination.
Vision for the mayoral year
While Councillor Lowe has yet to reveal which charities he plans to support, he has a clear idea about what his time in the red robes will look like. He said: "I've been looking at how the first citizen of the borough could use that position to showcase the wonderful people of Dudley and how we put the borough on the map. Maybe use the position to signpost the proud history of Dudley, what Dudley is at the moment and, importantly, what Dudley is aspiring to be in the future."
Councillor Lowe is calling on some high-profile help to get his messages across. He said: "Next year marks the 40th anniversary of one of Stourbridge's best-ever bands in Ned's Atomic Dustbin. I'll be naming a number of mayoral ambassadors and I'm really proud that Jonn Penney, the lead singer of Ned's Atomic Dustbin, has agreed to be one of my arts ambassadors for the following year."
Role in the council chamber
As chairperson of full council meetings, the mayor has an important role in refereeing sometimes feisty and bad-tempered debates. With a new-look council chamber where Reform UK is the second largest group just behind the ruling Conservatives, Councillor Lowe is keen to ensure he keeps order.
He said: "The chamber is different to how it was. There will be a lot of people who received a mandate from the electors but will be relatively inexperienced within the council chamber. I think my role will be to support those councillors. For those of us who are far more experienced, it's making sure that those council meetings get things done. It is making sure debates take place in an orderly manner, that everybody has the opportunity to have their say but at the same time we do it in a timely manner so that people leave their council meeting having resolved what the agenda is set out to be."
