Mayor of Wigan is longest-serving first citizen for decades due to coronavirus pandemic

Coun Steve Dawber spoke about inadvertently taking his place in the borough's history books and his extraordinary, extra-long term of office.
The Mayor of Wigan Coun Steve DawberThe Mayor of Wigan Coun Steve Dawber
The Mayor of Wigan Coun Steve Dawber

Coun Dawber has remained in the mayoral role with meetings in the council chamber, which includes the annual mayor-making ceremony, all suspended due to Covid-19.

It is a source of amusement for the councillor who represents Wigan West ward, who admits that the pomp and circumstance of the office took a bit of getting used to given his humble background.

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It is also likely he will be keeping hold of his mayoral chain for a while longer.

The mayor in his Pride suit with Alex Miller from the borough's archivesThe mayor in his Pride suit with Alex Miller from the borough's archives
The mayor in his Pride suit with Alex Miller from the borough's archives

He said: “I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing. Obviously the reasons behind it aren’t very nice.

“It’s a wonderful job, though. I was brought up on a council estate in Norley Hall, poor as anything, so to be chauffeur-driven round and treated like royalty in places is a bit uncomfortable for me.

“I wonder to myself sometimes how I ended up as a mayor, but it is a wonderful job. The best part is meeting people who are working within their community.

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“There are some marvellous people in our borough, and meeting the mayor means a great deal to them. I try to be the mayor they want.”

Local authorities across the region have taken a variety of approaches to the mayoral position in the Covid-19 pandemic, with some opting to extend their first citizens’ time in the role for another year and others changing as previously planned.

In Wigan it is necessary to go back to the aftermath of World War Two to find a mayor who did more than a year, with Edward Maloney serving as first citizen between 1947 and 1949.

John Thomas Grimshaw before that served as mayor in both 1913 and 1914, while Samuel Wood had no fewer than four years in a row in the role between 1907 and 1910.

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Several mayors in Leigh also served for two years around World War Two and the years shortly afterwards.

Coun Dawber’s unusually-long stint in the role could potentially have political significance as the mayor does become responsible for approving decisions which have to be made when the full chamber is unable to sit.

He said: “I have to agree to any urgent items or decisions When all the Greater Manchester councils wanted to join together to do a co-ordinated response to the coronavirus then because the council couldn’t meet approving it was my job. Fortunately that was easy, it was a no-brainer.

“Things like council meetings on Zoom have been looked into, and I know there are committees meeting, but most of the decisions have been able to be put back.

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“The processes still have to be followed. As a democrat I’m not very keen on the council not meeting but in these circumstances it was inevitable.”

One of the Mayor’s most recent jobs was to film an introduction to the online Wigan Pride celebration, having previously made quite an impression at last autumn’s event in a spectacular rainbow-coloured suit.

Throughout his time as first citizen he has been particularly keen to raise the profile of the borough’s young people and took the decision to make his son Oliver Waite his consort.

With many of the events the mayor would normally attend being cancelled due to the pandemic, he has been looking for other ways to support the borough and its residents.

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He said: “I’ve been volunteering at the armed forces’ headquarters, delivering parcels to people who are shielding. I’ve also been helping the community champion at Tesco and I’ve done a bit of work at The Old Courts.

“A lot of things in the town centre have gone until next year. Things like the Santa parade and the switch-on of the Christmas lights probably won’t be able to take place now. These are big things for people in Wigan. It would be nice to have some sort of normality back.”

Coun Dawber has been in a position in the spotlight as the borough has gone through a very testing time, and paid tribute to how residents have handled adversity.

He said: “There’s a great deal of community spirit as a result of this. It’s going to have a massive impact on community groups. Some of the fund-raising events I would have expected to attend as mayor can take a year in planning and would fund that group for the following year. There are groups forming that weren’t there before and I think we will gain more.

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“This community spirit has always been there but hasn’t shown as much as it could have been. People have been helping neighbours, talking to people next door more, talking to people in the queue at the supermarket. People in Wigan are basically very friendly and this is a good town to be the Mayor.”

Coun Dawber is not sure how long he will remain in office and when he will hand over his robes and chains to his current deputy, Coun Michael McLoughlin.

But when he does step down he will be left reflecting on a mayoral year like no other.