News / Politics
Godwin reveals deputy as she officially becomes West of England mayor
Helen Godwin is now officially the new mayor of the West of England after a short ceremony at WECA HQ in Redcliffe.
Godwin signed the ‘declaration of acceptance of office’ in front of a small audience including the elected heads of the three councils that make up the combined authority.
One of these politicians, Kevin Guy, the Lib Dem leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council, was revealed by Godwin as her deputy as the Labour mayor and former Bristol cabinet member announced the new role which will rotate every 12 months.
is needed now More than ever
Metro mayor Helen Godwin and her deputy mayor Kevin Guy – photo: Indigo Gayford
“I want the whole committee to work more closely together,” Godwin told Bristol24/7, saying that appointing a deputy mayor is a way of “showing the region that we can be committed to working across the borders and delivering for the whole region”.
For the new mayor, the combined authority – which her predecessor Dan Norris subtly changed from the name of from the West of England Combined Authority to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority – is about “economic growth on one level but it is also about for the future generations and what this looks like”.
Godwin said the region should be about having “a public transport system that works seamlessly so that people don’t need to get in their cars to get from A to B”.
She added: “It is also about being passionate about our landscape and environment, and those two things can go together.
“It is a part of our DNA as a region that we really are committed to climate action.”
Main photo: Indigo Gayford
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