BRIDGWATER'S New Mayor Cllr Mick Lerry who took office this week praised Nye Bevan in his speech.

Mick was also born in Wales, spent his childhood moving around the country with his family in search of work attending 15 different schools and finally leaving school at the age of 15.

This vision of community empowerment was at the heart of the inaugural speech and he said:"Nye Bevan, the Labour MP regarded as the founder of the National Health Service, believed that Labour should ‘seize the power of Parliament in order to create institutions which would empower society’. Bevan said ‘the purpose of getting power is to be able to give it away’."

His work experience took him into the trade union movement and back to education at Coleg Harlech to retrain as a teacher, a job that brought him to Bridgwater in 1976 where he taught at Blake School.

Mick was elected to Sedgemoor District Council in 1987 for Hamp and again in 2011 for Victoria, whereafter he was the Labour group leader. 

He was also elected to Bridgwater Town Council in 2011 and has held the Economy and Staff portfolio ever since. 

At the Town Council meeting on May 11 2023 Town Leader Cllr Brian Smedley said: “Micks vision echoing the words of Nye Bevan , is exactly in line with that of Bridgwater Town Council.

"We want the people of Bridgwater to be completely involved in THEIR Town Council and these changes come at a crucial time with the loss of Sedgemoor District Council and the creation of a new Unitary Somerset. Bridgwater now has to find it’s way in this brave new world, which, it has to be said, is ‘taking a bit of time’ to get itself established."

Cllr Brian Smedley added: “Mick will take over the Mayoral reigns from Liz Leavy who did a brilliant job and will be approaching it with a different outlook to previous Mayors.

"Gone will be a lot of the trappings of ceremony. No ‘Mayor Making’ event, just ‘getting on with the job’. No ‘displays of ostentatious affluence’ in a world of austerity and a cost of living crisis. Mick’s focus will be on the town, it’s people and the economy.

"His principal role will be as Chairman of the Council, as spokesman for the economy – it was Mick that pushed through the key elements of the ‘Town Deal’ from the Town Council perspective, and , with his union head on, developing the growing team of workers at the town council as we continue on the way to our ultimate goal of returning to Borough status with full powers at the most local level.”

Cllr Smedley added: “On Town we have an executive of 8 members from the ruling group – exactly as Sedgemoor did. Each has an area of special responsibility for the needs of the town. Finance, climate, transport, economy, culture, youth, property and community. Each PFH is supported by a ‘Triad’ – that’s a group of 3 councillors to develop policy and make decisions within their special area."

For 2023-24 the Town Council has shuffled around a bit with  Mick Lerry as Mayor and PFH Economy and Jacqui Solomon as his Deputy Mayor plus PFH Youth.

Mick will retain his Economy and staff focus and continue his pioneering work as rep on the Town Deal board. Mick will also front the Town Development Forum and bring new ideas to the forefront for public scrutiny.