Workington Town Council appoints its new mayor

Councillor Herbert Briggs was sworn in as the Mayor for the upcoming year at a ceremony in the Moorclose Theatre.

Councillor Briggs used his speech to thank his wife and family for all the support they had shown him over the years, as well as outgoing mayor Janet King for her work whilst in office.

He also said he looked forward to what he hopes will be a great year in office.

After the ceremony, he said: “It’s an honour to be the mayor of my own town. I’m 56 years old and I’ve lived in Workington 56 years.

“It’s an honour to be the town mayor. I’ve got a lot to live up to after previous mayors and a lot of responsibility, but I’m sure I can grab it by the horns and go at it and raise lots of money for my charities.”

His chosen causes for his year in office are Hospice at Home West Cumbria and Samaritans West Cumbria.

Councillor Will Wilkinson, of St Michael’s Ward, was appointed as the deputy mayor.

In his speech at the ceremony he told of the friendship he and Mr Briggs has enjoyed since they were school students at Moorclose.

He said: “As Herbert said this is going to be a team effort, two lifelong friends. We’ve always been friends so it is a team effort.

“We’re going to try and raise a lot of money and get as much done as we can. We’ve got a lot of plans for the future and we’re going to get them done.”

In her leaving speech, outgoing mayor Mrs King paid tribute to members of the council and staff who had supported her during her time in the role, extended for a year because of the pandemic.

She also paid a special tribute to her late husband and deputy mayor David King and councillor Joe Holliday, who both sadly died during her term in office.

Mrs King presented Hospice at Home West Cumbria and West Cumbria Carers with two cheques for £1,500 each, money raised during her time in office.

She also presented awards to a number of organisations for their contributions over the past years.

A new special award for ‘Outstanding Service to the Community’ was given to Angela Good ,Steven Rumney and the team at South Workington Youth Partnership for their help during Covid.

Mrs King said: “I’m delighted to be handing over to Herbert. It couldn’t go to a nicer person and he’s been absolutely a wonderful support during my two years as my consort, so I wish him all the best and I hope he has a wonderful term in office.”