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British Women Mayors

Three of England’s eleven regions have woman mayors.

Five out of 14 city mayors are female


Women mayors in England from top left: Tracy Brabin (West Yorkshire); Brenda Dacres (London Borough of Lewisham), Ros Jones (Doncaster); Caroline Woodley (London Borough of Hackney); Rokhsana Fiaz (London Borough of Newham); Norma Redfearn (North Tyneside)


English elected women mayors

May 2024: In London and several metropolitan areas, England’s cities are led by elected Mayors, while all but 14 of the 296 local councils in England are run by a Council Leader elected by their fellow councillors. Since 2002 a number have been led by mayors elected directly by local voters. Most of the local authority-elected mayors in England have responsibility for all local services, with two district council mayors responsible for only environment, planning and housing. In London and the mostly metropolitan areas Combined Authorities, the Mayor is responsible for transport, economic development, skills and spatial planning, as well as other fields as devolved.


All of England’s elected mayors were previously elected for four-year terms by the instant run-off Supplementary Vote, from 2023 this has been by a simple majority (‘First Past the Post’). There are no elected mayors in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.


Three of England’s eleven regions with elected mayors have women at their helm. Tracy Brabin, a former actress and Member of Parliament (MP), was elected in 2021 on a Labour ticket. Newly elected regional female mayors include Claire Ward (East Midlands) and Kim McGuinness (North East).


In addition to elected regional mayors, 14 out of 296 local councils in England have elected mayors in place. The remainder are run by a council leader elected by their fellow councillors. Of the 14 elected city mayors, five are women. Ros Jones (Doncaster) and Norma Redfearn (North Tyneside) have been in office for more than ten years. Rokhsana Fiaz (London Borough of Newham) was elected in 2018, while Caroline Woodley (London Borough of Hackney) replaced her male predecessor in a by-election in November 2023. Brenda Dacres (London Borough of Lewisham) was elected in March 2024 in a by-election to replace her male predecessor Damien Egan. All five women are members of the Labour Party.


Elected regional female mayors in England

West Yorkshire

Popl: 2,320,000

Tracy Brabin, Mayor since 2021

Party: Labour Annual allowance £106,837*


North East

Popl: 2,550,000 (in 2021)

Kim McGuinness, Mayor since 2024

Party: Labour Annual allowance: tba


East Midlands

Popl: 4,810,000

Claire Ward, Mayor since 2024

Party: Labour

Annual allowance: tba


Elected female city mayors in England

Doncaster

Popl: 291,000

Ros Jones, Mayor since 2013

Party: Labour

Annual allowance: £67,236*


Hackney (London Borough)

Popl: 212,200

Caroline Woodley, Mayor since 2023

Party: Labour

Annual allowance: £89,224*


Lewisham (London Borough)

Popl: 300,000

Brenda Dacres, Mayor since 2024

Party: Labour

Annual allowance: £80,759*


Newham (London Borough)

Popl: 249,500

Rokhsana Fiaz, Mayor since 2018

Party: Labour

Annual allowance: £87,997*


North Tynside

Popl: 196,000

Norma Redfearn, Mayor since 2013

Party: Labour

Annual allowance £68,499*


  • Research conducted in December 2023 and update in May 2024, following the local and regional elections on 2 May 2024. All salary data shown has been cross-referenced across a range of sources and is to the best of our knowledge accurate at the time of writing in December 2023.


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