New mayor of Berkshire town elected to represent the community
New mayor of Berkshire town elected to represent the community
The new mayor of Woodley has been selected to represent neighbours and preside over the town council.
Each year, a new mayor is selected to act as a figurehead for the community, preside over council meetings and attend events.
Councillor David Bragg (Conservative, Coronation Central) has been selected as the town mayor for the 2025/26 year at a full council meeting.
He said: "Thank you all so much for your confidence in appointing me Mayor of Woodley Town Council for the current year.
"This is an honour I never, ever, expected or anticipated when I was first elected to this council back in 2018.
ADVERTISEMENT
Six-figure upgrade due for local theatre despite its troubled recent history
"This year is particularly important to me as we approach the 80th anniversary of VE Day, a day of particular importance to both my parents, who are sadly no longer with us."
Cllr Bragg served as deputy mayor under town mayor for 2024/25 cllr Juliet Anderson (Conservative, Coronation Central).
He said: "I've thoroughly enjoyed my period as deputy mayor, and now look forward to the challenges and experiences of the year ahead, in which time I promise to represent you, the town council, the residents and all of its communities with the respect and energy you all deserve."
Cllr Bragg has chosen Promise Inclusion, which supports children and adults with learning disabilities, as his mayoral charity.
ADVERTISEMENT
He added: "Finally, thank you to cllr Juliet Anderson for her dedication and hard work over the year, you'll be a very hard act to follow."
Experience the pulse of Reading at your fingertips! 🚨
With our flash sale, Reading Chronicle keeps you updated for less: only £3 for 3 months or save 40% on an annual subscription. Don't miss out on what's happening locally! 👇
#DigitalDeal #LocalJournalism pic.twitter.com/ro6XUMoPl9
— Reading Chronicle (@rdgchronicle) April 15, 2025
He was elected mayor with the votes of the 16 other councillors present at the full council meeting yesterday (Tuesday, May 6).
Cllr Darren Smith (Conservative, Coronation East) has been selected as deputy mayor.
Cllr Bragg was nominated by cllr Keith Baker (Conservative, Coronation East), with the nomination being seconded by Alison Swaddle (Conservative, Loddon Airfield).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
UK-US trade deal could come into effect in ‘a couple of weeks', Starmer says
Keir Starmer has said he hopes a trade deal struck last month with the US could come into effect 'in just a couple of weeks', as the White House has signalled that the UK will be spared the 50% steel and aluminium tariffs that came into force on Wednesday. Donald Trump said he had decided to 'provide different treatment' to the UK, after the deal was agreed between Washington and London – though it is yet to be signed. Starmer said in the House of Commons on Wednesday that the deal would be implemented 'within a very short time'. The executive order signed by the US president on Tuesday evening will raise import taxes for US companies buying from other countries. Levies will remain at 25% for imports from Britain, although the higher 50% could come in 'on or after 9 July' if the US administration 'determines that the UK has not complied with relevant aspects' of the deal. Challenged over the uncertainty during prime minister's questions by the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, Starmer said: 'We are the only country in the world that isn't paying the 50% tax on steel and that will be coming down. We are working on it, to bring it down to zero; that is going to happen.' The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said on Wednesday that 'essential steps' were taking place 'at pace' to turn Starmer's agreement with Trump into an implementable deal that would eliminate tariffs on steel and cars. Reynolds was speaking at a brief press conference in Brussels, announcing 13 partnerships with third countries to develop critical minerals supplies, including one pact to financially support Tungsten West, which hopes to reopen a closed mine in Devon. His visit to Brussels came a day after a meeting with the White House trade representative, Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of an OECD summit in Paris. 'The two essential steps we are continuing to progress at pace is, first of all, the implementation of the agreement we have on sectoral tariffs. Steel and aluminium is part of that, alongside automotive, aerospace and the other critical sectors,' Reynolds said. 'We've had the decision not to extend 50% but we need to bring that 25% down to effectively zero … that is one piece of work which we continue to progress at pace.' Reynolds added that 'deeper negotiation about reciprocal tariffs' between the UK and the US was 'ongoing'. 'We don't want to see additional barriers to trade being put in place, and we continue to work constructively with all partners to secure that,' he said. The reduction in tariff rates for UK steelmakers was 'in the short-term … good news' said Rowan Crozier, the chief executive of Brandauer, a metal-stamping specialist. However, the boss of the Birmingham-based company told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that continual changes to tariff policy were damaging and creating uncertainty for business. 'It is quite far-reaching because essentially our customers are less confident in forward planning or ordering what they need,' Crozier said. He added that the company was having to contact its US customers directly, and called on the UK government to finalise the trade deal with the US in the coming weeks. 'I think the government have done well to keep us out of it for now but there is a definite deadline they have got to work to now to take away this uncertainty and get those tariffs to zero,' Crozier said. The industry body UK Steel welcomed Trump's decision to keep tariffs at 25% but said uncertainty remained over the final rate. Its director general, Gareth Stace, said: 'Continued 25% tariffs will benefit shipments already on the water that we were concerned would fall under a tax hike.' However, he added: 'We need the UK government to apply rocket boosters to those negotiations with the US administration to get that deal over the line and remove tariffs altogether on our imports and exports to the US market, which is our second-biggest export market.' Steel companies had been considering whether to turn shipments around in the mid-Atlantic to try to sell products in Europe rather than pay 50% tariffs. There were also questions over whether products immediately shipped back from the US would be liable to the levies. Liam Bates, the president for long products at Marcegaglia Stainless Sheffield, told the Guardian that the UK industry was relieved. He said: 'Storm in a teacup springs to mind.' However, he added that 'this is still a wider issue as anything not exclusively UK is attracting 50%' tariffs. It also does require this 0% deal is now done.' Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, said the exemption 'takes us back from the brink and many workers will breathe easier as a result' amid fears that thousands of British jobs could be lost if the steel and aluminium tariffs came into full force.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Badenoch launches review into possible ECHR exit
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is to set up a commission to examine whether the UK should withdraw from a series of international legal agreements and overturn some domestic legislation which she fears may be binding the hands of British governments. Among the agreements being looked into is the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Badenoch is expected to appoint Tory peer and former justice minister Lord Wolfson of Tredegar to chair the commission, which is expected to report by autumn, when the party meets for its annual conference. Last month, the government announced plans to bring forward legislation to "clarify" the extent to which ECHR would impact UK immigration cases. Labour's immigration plans at a glance UK may have to leave human rights treaty, says Badenoch The ECHR was established in 1950 and sets out the rights and freedoms people are entitled to in the 46 signatory countries. The treaty is a central part of UK human rights law and has been used to halt attempts to deport migrants who are deemed to be in the UK illegally. The treaty was also recently cited in a case that allowed a Palestinian family the right to live in the UK, after they originally applied through a scheme designed for Ukrainians. During the Conservative leadership election, the ECHR became a key dividing line between candidates, with Badenoch telling her party leaving the treaty would not be a "silver bullet" to tackling immigration. Her nearest rival Robert Jenrick, now shadow justice secretary, argued his party would "die' unless it left the ECHR. But in February, Badenoch hardened her stance, claiming the UK would "probably have to leave" the treaty it continued to stop the government acting in the country's national interest. The impact of the ECHR on asylum claims and the deportation of foreign criminals will be examined as part of the Wolfson review, the BBC understands - as will the Refugee Convention. Domestic law such as the Climate Change Act, the Equality Act and the Human Rights Act are also likely to be looked at. The party leadership is worried about what is seen as a creeping sense of "lawfare", which senior figures believe contributes to a feeling of stasis and a lack of ability for governments to make substantive changes. Last month when the government set out its plans for tackling illegal immigration in a White Paper, ministers said they would bring forward legislation to "make it clear that Parliament needs to be able to control our borders and take back control on who comes to and stays in the UK". The White Paper specifically referred to Article 8 of the ECHR, the right to a family life, and said there was a need to "strike a balance between individual family rights and the wider public interest". Badenoch will set out her plans in a speech on Friday, just over a month on from local elections in England where the Conservatives were crushed – and a series of opinion polls where support for the party had tumbled into the teens. The Tories secured 24% of the vote in last year's general election, when they won the fewest seats in their history. There is growing concern within the party about the resilience of support for Reform UK and the existential threat this poses to the Conservatives. "It is a make or break summer," one former Conservative cabinet minister told me. "We are a resilient brand but we have to stay alive. And that's far from certain at the moment." Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Bold rewiring' of economy needed as Tories seek to regain trust, Stride says
The shadow chancellor will say a 'bold rewiring' of the economy is needed as part of Tory efforts to 'regain trust' following the fallout from Liz Truss' mini-budget. In a speech on Thursday, Mel Stride is expected to promise the Conservatives will 'never again' make offers they cannot afford as the party seeks to forge a 'credible' financial plan for the future. Taking aim at both Labour and Reform UK, the Tory frontbencher will accuse Chancellor Rachel Reeves of 'fiddling the figures' by changing her definition of national debt, and warn that 'populism is not the answer'. Addressing the legacy of the 2022 mini-budget under Ms Truss's premiership, which spooked the financial markets and led to a spike in mortgage rates, Mr Stride will say: 'For a few weeks, we put at risk the very stability which Conservatives had always said must be carefully protected. 'The credibility of the UK's economic framework was undermined by spending billions on subsidising energy bills and tax cuts, with no proper plan for how this would be paid for.' In a furious response, Ms Truss has accused Mr Stride of having 'kowtowed to the failed Treasury orthodoxy' and being 'set on undermining my plan for growth'. The shadow chancellor will claim that the Tories acted swiftly to restore stability, but the party's credibility would take longer to recover. 'That will take time, and it also requires contrition,' he is expected to say. 'So let me be clear: never again will the Conservative Party undermine fiscal credibility by making promises we cannot afford.' Ahead of the Chancellor's spending review next week, her opposite number will accuse her of 'abandoning' financial responsibility. Ms Reeves has two self-imposed 'fiscal rules' – funding day-to-day spending through taxation and for debt, measured by the benchmark of 'public sector net financial liabilities' (PSNFL), to be falling as a share of GDP. She has insisted these constraints are 'non-negotiable' amid wrangles with Cabinet colleagues over departmental budgets ahead of next week's announcement. Mr Stride will say: 'At the spending review next week, we can expect her to trumpet all of the additional projects and programmes she is funding – without mentioning the fact it is all being paid for from borrowing.' Attacking Nigel Farage's Reform party after its gains in the local elections last month, the shadow chancellor will say: 'Take Reform. Their economic prescription is pure populism. It doubles down on the 'magic money tree' we thought had been banished with Jeremy Corbyn.' During the speech in central London, he will say the two 'core priorities' for the party will be 'stability and fiscal responsibility', with control of spending and reform of welfare and public services. He will add: 'And a bold rewiring of the British economy – to unleash growth, productivity, and opportunity across the country.' Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that the comeback she anticipates for the party will take time as it seeks to avoid 'rushing' into policy commitments. Mr Stride will insist modern politics requires more 'thoughtfulness', with the Conservatives planning to spend the next four years forging a 'credible' plan to return to government. 'We will need to take our time if we are to forge a credible plan that delivers for the people of our country,' he will say. 'Over the next four years, our party will do just that.' Since being ejected from Number 10 after just 49 days in office, Ms Truss has conceded her plan to quickly abolish the 45p top rate of tax went too far, but otherwise defended her failed bid to boost growth. Responding to the Tory announcement on Thursday, she said: 'Mel Stride was one of the Conservative MPs who kowtowed to the failed Treasury orthodoxy and was set on undermining my Plan for Growth from the moment I beat his chosen candidate for the party leadership. 'Even when judged by the OBR's flawed calculations, my plans were chalked up as costing less than the spending spree Rishi Sunak pursued as Chancellor during the pandemic – yet Mel Stride never took him to task over any of that. 'And why has he singularly failed to examine the role played by the Bank of England in causing the LDI crisis that sent gilt rates spiralling? Why has he never asked the pertinent questions of the Governor, despite the Bank since admitting that two-thirds of the gilt spike was down to them? 'My plan to turbocharge the economy and get Britain growing again provided the only pathway for the Conservatives to avoid a catastrophic defeat at the election.' She added: 'Until Mel Stride admits the economic failings of the last Conservative Government, the British public will not trust the party with the reins of power again.' Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice said: 'We'll take no lectures on economics from a party that more than doubled the national debt, raised taxes and government spending to 70-year highs and shrank economic growth to 70-year lows. 'Meanwhile, we unearth Tory-run councils wasting £30 million on a bridge to nowhere. They can never be trusted again.' The Liberal Democrats accused the Conservatives of attacking Mr Farage's party for 'the same fantasy economics' they had pursued 'while secretly plotting a pact with them' as they branded the speech 'absurd'. Deputy leader Daisy Cooper MP said: 'It's insulting that the Conservatives think a few warm words will fool people into forgiving them for all the damage they did to the economy and people's livelihoods. 'Families are still reeling from the Conservatives' lockdown law-breaking and still paying the price after their mini budget sent mortgages spiralling. 'Now the Conservatives have the cheek to criticise Reform UK for the same fantasy economics while secretly plotting a pact with them: it's absurd.'
