Town's youngest and first openly gay mayor welcomed

  • Published
Declan BaselyImage source, Declan Baseley
Image caption,

Declan Baseley is the new mayor of Chippenham

A newly-elected mayor says he is "proud" to be the town's "youngest and first openly gay mayor".

Green Party councillor Declan Baseley, 27, was welcomed as the 189th mayor of Chippenham on Wednesday, taking over the ceremonial role from Liz Alstrom.

Mr Basely said it was "incredibly important" to acknowledge how views had become more progressive over the years.

"It was wonderful to know I had the backing of all my colleagues... it meant a lot," he said.

Mr Basely said the first mayor of Chippenham was elected around 1830 and photographs at the local museum appear to show he is the youngest person to have ever held the role.

"I'm so passionate about Chippenham. I grew up here and I want to make sure it's fit for the future and a positive place for succeeding generations to live in," Mr Basely said.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Declan Baseley

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Declan Baseley

He added that - as a passionate environmentalist - he hopes to promote sustainability and encourage young local people to get involved in politics if it interests them.

"I hope they see it is possible for them to take local roles and impact the whole of our community," he said.

Mr Basely added that he was looking forward to the town's first Pride event on 17 June at Monkton Park as it was "important" for him to represent the town on the day.

Related topics

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.