Mayor of Douglas aims to be council conscience

Natalie Byron-Teare takes over the role from Janet Thommeny

The newly-elected mayor of Douglas has spoken of her pride at having been chosen for the role and he hopes to become the council's "conscience".

Natalie Byron-Teare was unanimously supported at a formal ceremony on 10 May.

She takes over the position from Janet Thommeny.

Ms Byron-Teare said the role was important to the "heritage" of Douglas and she hoped to "promote and engage" with all aspects of it.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said that while the role was an apolitical one, she hoped to act as a "conscience to the council".

That would entail "reminding those who are making these decisions about the people that they are making those decisions on behalf of", she said.

Councillor Steven Crellin was appointed deputy mayor with Samantha Crellin as deputy mayoress.

Clare Wells has been re-elected to serve as council leader

At an earlier sitting of the council, Clare Wells was re-elected as leader of the council for the next two years.

Reflecting on her appointment she said: "I am proud because at the end of the day what we do is important and somebody’s got to bring everybody’s ideas together and make them reality."

Ms Wells said she hoped to continue providing the council with consistency.

"I think it’s important that if we stand consistently throughout our term, we can also achieve bigger things and better things," she added.