BEING mayor runs in the family for the new town mayor of Selby, Coun Wendy Nichols.

Her parents, the late Les and Rae Cunliffe, were district and town councillors, and also held the office of town mayor.

Coun Nichols was elected to the position at a meeting of the council on Tuesday, and the new district council leaders were also announced.

The new executive members, who will create all policies to be submitted to full council, are council leader Mark Crane, deputy leader Gillian Ivey, and councillors Cliff Lunn, John Mackman and Chris Metcalfe.

The new structure will shape policies without using boards and committees, before the results are sent to full council meetings for decisions on budgets or savings of more than £150,000.

The council hope this new scheme will speed up decision making and improve accountability, by making it clear who has made decisions and why.

Coun Crane said: “The new way of working also supports every single councillor in their role as the guardian of local interests. The move gives them more flexibility to represent the individual views of their constituents.”

Conservative councillor Kay McSherry was invested as the new council chairman, and returning Labour councillor and former leader of the Labour group Jack Crawford as deputy chairman.

Coun Crawford said: “It’s strange for me. I was first nominated for this position four years ago, and some people have said it has been a long wait for me to achieve it. I think the structure of the executive is probably the most efficient way to run the council, but my views probably aren’t in line with the majority of the Labour party members in Selby.”

Three scrutiny committees were also set up to support the executive in developing policy, scrutinising decisions and performance and to monitor risk management. Chairs of these committees are Liz Casling, Mike Jordan and Wendy Nichols, and the deputy chairs are Carol Mackman, Richard Musgrave, and Rod Price.