A new mayor has been appointed at Wokingham Borough Council (WBC).

Cllr Richards was appointed mayor at last night’s virtual Full Council meeting, immediately taking over as chairman of the committee from previous mayor Cllr Bill Soane.

The Norreys ward councillor was elected unopposed but there was a battle for the deputy mayor position, with Woodley Town Council leader Keith Baker winning out to take over from Cllr Richards.

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Cllr Richards said he is “delighted” to become the new mayor at WBC and praised the outgoing mayor.

Council leader John Halsall said Cllr Richards “is a wonderful choice”.

Lib Dem group leader Cllr Lindsay Ferris added: “Malcolm is a very well respected councillor and deserves his opportunity to be mayor”.

Cllr Richards’ chosen charities for the year are Home First and First Days, charities focusing on families with young children that need support.

The election of Cllr Richards as mayor was not supported by the Labour group of councillors, who choose to abstain, but all other councillors voted him in.

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Councillor Keith Baker was elected deputy mayor after being pitted against Cllr Caroline Smith in a showdown vote.

The Woodley Town Council leader received 33 votes to Cllr Smith’s 19.

Cllr Baker said: “It will be a great honour to serve this great community of ours.”

The mayor and deputy mayor roles at WBC is ceremonial and held for just one financial year, with the deputy traditionally taking over from the mayor.

Due to the large number of councillors at the meeting, procedures were removed to allow for block voting from each political group, despite one councillor’s concerns.

Councillor Chris Smith, who is chairman of the council’s Constitution Review Working Group, said the method of voting was against the constitution and voted against dropping procedures, but no other councillors agreed.