The leader of Kirklees Council, Clr Shabir Pandor, is to be responsible for business, the economy and innovation under the new Mayor of West Yorkshire.
Former Batley & Spen MP Tracy Brabin was elected West Yorkshire’s first mayor earlier this month.
She has now announced her new deputy mayor and also allocated portfolios to all five of West Yorkshire’s council leaders.
Clr Pandor, last week re-elected leader of Kirklees Council, said: “By making West Yorkshire the best place to start or grow a business we can create more and better jobs and generate investment to support the public services our region deserves.”
Clr James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, has been nominated to serve as deputy mayor.
The other portfolio-holders are:
- Carbon and Energy – Clr Tim Swift (Calderdale);
- Place, Regeneration and Planning – Clr Denise Jeffery (Wakefield);
- Skills and Employment – Clr James Lewis (Leeds);
- Transport – Clr Susan Hinchcliffe (Bradford).
If agreed at the annual meeting of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on June 24, council leaders will chair committees in line with their new portfolios.
The mayor will chair a new committee focusing on supporting West Yorkshire’s creative and cultural sector. The mayor has already announced that former Leeds councillor Alison Lowe is her preferred choice for deputy mayor for policing and crime.
READ MORE: Cabinet reshuffle after Shabir Pandor is re-elected council leader
Ms Brabin said: “I’m excited to be working with all the leaders of West Yorkshire councils to deliver on the pledges I made during the election.
“I am committed to building on the work already underway to create a stronger, more resilient West Yorkshire, increasing living standards for all across the region.”
