New mayor 'honoured' to lead town council

Councillor James Hart has taken over as Mayor of Hatfield Town Council

Members of a town council in South Yorkshire have appointed a new mayor after the previous leader resigned.

Councillor James Hart, who previously served as Mayor of Hatfield in 2012, was re-appointed to the post at a meeting on Monday, taking over from Michael Glynn, who resigned as the town's mayor last Wednesday.

Glynn's resignation ended a tumultuous few months for Hatfield Town Council, which had struggled to retain administrative staff needed to keep the authority functioning.

Hart said it was an "honour" to serve as Mayor of Hatfield again, adding: "We've a lot of work to do to get our council back on an even footing."

"I can only apologise to residents for the recent disruption, but we will get things moving in the right direction once again," Hart said.

In June, when the council still had a full workforce, staff told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that colleagues were looking to leave.

By August, two of the council's three administrative employees had left.

Hart had been appointed as Glynn's deputy in October, after the previous incumbent was removed from the position.

Hart, now an Independent, was the Conservative candidate for Mayor of Doncaster in 2021.

However, he left the party in April last year after saying he was "disappointed" in its leadership.

Councillor Deborah Smith was voted into the role of Hatfield Town Council's deputy mayor by a vote of seven to four.

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