Lydia Emelda Simmons is a Labour Party local politician in Slough, Berkshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

who was active between 1979 and 2007. She has the distinction of being the first black person, as well as specifically the first Afro-Caribbean woman, to become a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

in England. By the end of her tenure as Councillor on

Slough Borough Council Slough Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Slough, in Berkshire, England. Slough is a unitary authority, having the powers of a county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonial county, with no admini ...

(1979 - 1994 and 1999 - 2007), she was the longest-serving member of the council. She was born in Montserrat, a small

volcanic island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

in the Caribbean.

Offices

1979 - 1994

* Councillor on Slough Borough Council (1979 - 1994) * Deputy Mayor of Slough (1983 - 1984) * Mayor of Slough (1984 - 1985) * Chair of the council committee responsible for housing (1985 - 1994)

1999 - 2007

* Councillor on Slough Borough Council (1999 - 2007) * Cabinet commissioner (1999 - 2004), Simmons became shadow commissioner for Housing, after Labour went into opposition in 2004. ** Social Exclusion (1999 - 2002) ** Neighbourhood Services (2002 - 2004) ** Shadow Commissioner for Housing (2004), after Labour went into opposition. * Member of the Board of People 1st Slough (2006), which ran

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

in Slough as an

arms length management organisation In the United Kingdom, an arms-length management organisation (ALMO) is a not-for-profit company that provides housing services on behalf of a local authority. Usually an ALMO is set up by the authority to manage and improve all or part of its h ...

(ALMO).

Disputed 2007 election

At the 2007 Slough Council election, Simmons was the Labour candidate in Central Ward. She was unexpectedly defeated by the Conservative candidate, Eshaq Khan, in circumstances which led to an election petition being presented challenging the result. An election commissioner, on 18 March 2008, ruled the election void because of registration and postal vote fraud; Khan was expelled from the Conservative Party. Simmons did not contest the by-election caused by the court decision. It was only when Labour party activists, surprised by the Conservative victory in an election otherwise a success for Labour, pressed for an investigation that the fraud was discovered, the hearing was told.

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