Meet the new Mayor of Mirfield

And as a member of Mensa with an IQ of 156, Coun Patricia Sutcliffe has got the brains for the job.

Coun Sutcliffe was chosen by a full meeting of Mirfield Town Council last Tuesday. She said: “I’ve been absolutely loving it. I’m absolutely delighted and I’m already replying to invites to do things.”

Coun Sutcliffe had her first official public engagement on Friday, when she presented an award at Mirfield Sports Council’s 17th annual sports awards at Mirfield Cricket Club.

This is her second year on the town council, where she serves alongside her husband of 38 years, John.

She said: “I care about my community. When we first came here, we found Mirfield to be a warming and welcoming place, and you don’t get that many places like that.

“That’s something that needs protecting and everybody needs to work hard to make sure we keep that.”

Coun Sutcliffe already has ideas of how she wants to engage with the community she is representing.

She plans to contact primary schools in Mirfield to organise Meet The Mayor sessions, where pupils can learn about what she and the town council do.

The Mayor will be keeping her community up to date through a column which will be featured in the Mirfield Reporter once month.

Coun Sutcliffe will also raise money for charity throughout her term. She wants local charities to write to her by July 1, explaining why they should get her support, before picking two to raise funds for.

Coun Sutcliffe said: “I will be looking for them to be able to say to me, ‘This is why we will be enhanced by an injection of funds’.

“I will work my hardest to make sure I raise as much money for those two charities as I can.”

Registered charities can make their case by writing to Coun Pat Sutcliffe at the Town Council Offices, 198 Huddersfield Road, Mirfield, WF14 8BA.

Coun Sutcliffe, 61, grew up in Castleford, where she went on to become a school teacher. She has worked as a lecturer at Wakefield College and a management trainer, and held a number of management positions throughout her career.

Now retired, Coun Sutcliffe is chair of the Mirfield branch of the Conservative Party and is a governor at Hopton Primary School.