Former police inspector David Jones has been elected the new leader of Bury Council.
Cllr Jones has taken over the top job from Cllr Rishi Shori, who steps down after three years in the role.
“It’s a great honour and a privilege to be chosen to lead this council,” he said. “I’m very much looking forward to playing my part in continuing to ensure that Bury is great place in which to live, work and study.”
Cllr Jones has represented Unsworth ward since 2012, and was chair of the licensing committee for six years. Before being elected he worked for the council as head of the Community Safety Team between 2006 and 2010.
Prior to that he served with Greater Manchester Police, where he was an inspector for more than 20 years before retiring as the officer in charge at Whitefield Police Station. He oversaw many different areas of police work; from undercover units to licensing enforcement, the drugs squad and community policing.
“Working at senior strategic level has given me a huge amount of experience in making difficult decisions quickly and under pressure,” he said.
“It has also been vital in understanding the importance of working with partners and team-building, which these days is so important – whether that’s working with the NHS to create joined-up health and social care, with businesses to bring prosperity to the borough, and with education providers to ensure our young people have the right skills to set them up for life.”
Cllr Jones is married and has two children and three grandchildren. He was elected leader at this evening’s full council meeting.
“After nearly a decade of austerity, I am determined to ensure that our budget goes as far as it can and I will be making the case to government for fair funding to help our schools, adult care and police locally,” he added.
He was welcomed to his new role by the outgoing leader Cllr Shori, who said: “Given the challenges we face locally and nationally, David Jones is the strong, experienced voice that the Council needs and I wish him all the best for the future”.
