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Our Members

The profile card picture of Cllr Eileen Taylor
Cllr Eileen Taylor
Elected Member and Chair of the Panel
Leeds Council

Cllr Taylor has represented Chapel Allerton ward on Leeds city council since 2008, and is proud to live and work in her ward. Prior to becoming a councillor, she worked in mental health, which she remains passionate about. Since being elected, she has had many roles on the council, including her appointment as the first black Lord Mayor for the city, between 2019-2021 (a 2-year tenure due to the pandemic). Cllr Taylor has sat on several council committees including as chair of the Community Committee, and the Planning Panel, and as a member of the Health & Wellbeing, Children Scrutiny, Development Plan Panels. She has been a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, and has chaired Austin’s and Disabilities Partnership Board and the Learning Disability Partnership Board. In addition, she is the Health and Wellbeing champion for the Community Committee. At Leeds Council, Cllr Taylor is the Lead member for Race Equality and Windrush. She describes herself as very outspoken and passionate about the work she does, always working to achieve the best outcomes for the people of Leeds and West Yorkshire.

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Cllr Eileen Taylor

Elected Member and Chair of the Panel

Leeds Council
eileen.taylor@leeds.gov.uk

Cllr Taylor has represented Chapel Allerton ward on Leeds city council since 2008, and is proud to live and...

The profile card picture of Cllr Maureen Cummings
Cllr Maureen Cummings
Elected Member and Deputy Chair of the Panel
Wakefield Council

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Cllr Maureen Cummings

Elected Member and Deputy Chair of the Panel

Wakefield Council
mcummings@wakefield.gov.uk

The profile card picture of Cllr Andrew Carter CBE
Cllr Andrew Carter CBE
Elected Member
Leeds Council

Andrew has represented Calverley and Farsley ward for many years, and was Leader of Leeds City Council between 2004 and 2010.

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Cllr Andrew Carter CBE

Elected Member

Leeds Council
andrew.carter@leeds.gov.uk

Andrew has represented Calverley and Farsley ward for many years, and was Leader of Leeds City Council...

The profile card picture of Cllr Geraldine Carter
Cllr Geraldine Carter
Elected Member
Calderdale Council

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Cllr Geraldine Carter

Elected Member

Calderdale Council
Councillor.GCarter@calderdale.gov.uk

The profile card picture of Cllr Oliver Edwards
Cllr Oliver Edwards
Elected Member
Leeds Council

Cllr Edwards has represented Guiseley and Rawdon ward on Leeds City Council since 2023 and joined the Police and Crime Panel in June 2025. In addition to his ward Councillor role, he is the Lead Member for Faith, Religion and Belief on Leeds City Council. He works closely with the Council's Equalities Team to make sure that the voices of faith communities are heard within the decision-making process and to support efforts for effective cross-community conversations and dialogue. He is also particularly interested in ensuring that the voices of children and young people are included, and is an active member of both the Council's Corporate Parenting Board which oversees work with children and young people in care and a member of the Children and Families Scrutiny Board. Prior to being elected, Cllr Edwards worked in a number of different roles including in education and examinations where he specialised in English as a Foreign Language. Away from his elected role, he is an English Language Examiner and previously worked abroad in Saudi Arabia and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He has a particular interest in the development of strong inter-community relations locally and the importance of wider international partnerships. Cllr Edwards also previously worked within a Community Mental Health Team and so brings a keen interest in the importance of understanding the impact of mental health across a range of policy areas

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Cllr Oliver Edwards

Elected Member

Leeds Council
Oliver.Edwards@leeds.gov.uk

Cllr Edwards has represented Guiseley and Rawdon ward on Leeds City Council since 2023 and joined the Police...

The profile card picture of Cllr Jackie Ferguson
Cllr Jackie Ferguson
Elected Member
Wakefield Council

Cllr Ferguson has lived in West Yorkshire all of her life with her partner, two daughters, four granddaughters and a close extended family full of strong women. She grew up in a mining community, and was inspired to go into community politics by her politically savvy mam. She is now in her third year of representing Airedale Ward on Wakefield Council. Cllr Ferguson went to University as a mature student following the yearlong miners strike, and was the first member of her family to do so. After graduating, she worked as a lecturer in Psycho / Social Sciences at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield for twenty five years before leaving to become a district councillor. She has particular interests in public health, social inequalities and diversity, equality and inclusion. Cllr Ferguson is interested in the relationship between policing, crime and all aspects of social inequality and hopes to usefully bring her knowledge, understanding and expertise in these areas to the Panel.

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Cllr Jackie Ferguson

Elected Member

Wakefield Council
jackieferguson@wakefield.gov.uk

Cllr Ferguson has lived in West Yorkshire all of her life with her partner, two daughters, four...

The profile card picture of Cllr Chris Hayden
Cllr Chris Hayden
Elected Member
Bradford Council

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Cllr Chris Hayden

Elected Member

Bradford Council
chris.hayden@bradford.gov.uk

The profile card picture of Cllr Celia Hickson
Cllr Celia Hickson
Elected Member
Bradford Council

Celia is a lifelong Bradford resident who was elected in May 2022. She is a member of the Governance and Audit and Licensing Committees of BMDC. Celia has been involved in local Green politics for many years after becoming active in the environmental movement in her student years. Celia has a PhD in Biotechnology and has used her skills in business, finance and social justice in the charitable sector since 2004 working with charities supporting social housing, the arts, social business development, disability rights and refugees. She has a particular interest in making our urban environments safe and appealing to everyone, be they pedestrians, cyclists or vehicle users and is interested to work with Vision Zero in this arena.

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Cllr Celia Hickson

Elected Member

Bradford Council
celia.hickson@bradford.gov.uk

Celia is a lifelong Bradford resident who was elected in May 2022. She is a member of the Governance and...

The profile card picture of Cllr Ann Kingstone
Cllr Ann Kingstone
Elected Member
Calderdale Council

A preview profile picture of Cllr Ann Kingstone

Cllr Ann Kingstone

Elected Member

Calderdale Council
councillor.akingstone@calderdale.gov.uk

The profile card picture of Trevor Lake
Trevor Lake
Independent Member

Trevor Lake is an experienced NHS Trust Chair, Vice Chair, Non-Executive Director and Governors Chair with experience of living and working across West Yorkshire and the wider region, including Mid-Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust, NHS Calderdale Primary Care Trust and as a Governor at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. He has also been an Independent member of the West Yorkshire Police Authority and Independent Chair of the Joint Audit and Ethics Committee for the West Yorkshire Police Commissioner and West Yorkshire Police, an Accredited Peer Assessor for HMIC & the Audit Commission and a Senior Officer Selection Assessor for the National Police Improvement Agency. Trevor has a Master's Degree in East Asian (China) Culture and Societies Studies from the University of Leeds and experience as a Director in private sector companies working with organisations and local government in the UK and in China.

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Trevor Lake

Independent Member
lakeonline@hotmail.com

Trevor Lake is an experienced NHS Trust Chair, Vice Chair, Non-Executive Director and Governors Chair with...

The profile card picture of Cllr Gwen Lowe
Cllr Gwen Lowe
Elected Member
Kirklees Council

Gwen has been a Labour & Cooperative Councillor for nineteen years. Being Batley born n bred she is proud to represent Batley West. Between 2001-2004 Gwen worked tirelessly to help combat ASB in her local area which led to her putting herself forward to be a Councillor to have a louder voice for the community. She is involved with many local groups, not just as a councillor, but also as an active volunteer. Gwen sits on several committees including the Kirklees Communities Partnership Board and Older People's Mental Health Services.

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Cllr Gwen Lowe

Elected Member

Kirklees Council
gwen.lowe@kirklees.gov.uk

Gwen has been a Labour & Cooperative Councillor for nineteen years. Being Batley born n bred she is proud to...

The profile card picture of Cllr Nussrat Mohammed
Cllr Nussrat Mohammed
Elected Member
Bradford Council

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Cllr Nussrat Mohammed

Elected Member

Bradford Council
nussrat.mohammed@bradford.gov.uk

The profile card picture of Cllr Anthony Smith
Cllr Anthony Smith
Elected Member
Kirklees Council

Cllr Anthony Smith lives in Lindley and has represented the Lindley Ward in Kirklees since 2019. He is actively involved with local community groups and chairs the Lindley Community Ward Partnership, a forum for local groups and third sector organisations to share ideas and information and work together to deliver services to every section of the community. Anthony has a B.Sc. (Hons) in Business Information Systems and works as a National Account Manager for a leading software provider to the automotive industry.

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Cllr Anthony Smith

Elected Member

Kirklees Council
anthony.smith@kirklees.gov.uk

Cllr Anthony Smith lives in Lindley and has represented the Lindley Ward in Kirklees since 2019. He is...

The profile card picture of Jo Sykes
Jo Sykes
Independent Member

Jo Sykes has lived all her life in West Yorkshire and spent the majority of her working career in West Yorkshire Local Authorities. Jo commenced her working career in Education Services, working with school Governing Bodies, Parental Complaints and then with the Behaviour Support Services. It was this work that lead to her developing an interest in Community Safety. From 2000, Jo has worked as Community Safety Manager in different Local Authorities delivering the statutory requirements of the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) and working to promote a partnership approach to addressing the challenges of crime and disorder. In 2009 Jo was appointed Head of Safer and Sustainable Communities in a South Yorkshire Local Authority, but is now on secondment working across South and West Yorkshire on a Youth Justice Board project. Jo has a degree in Management Administration, Post-Graduate Certificate in Community Safety and a Diploma in Management Studies. In her free time Jo is involved with amateur dramatics - being a performing member of 2 local groups - she also works to promote Girlguiding locally through marketing and PR. Jo enjoys holidays and time with her family.

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Jo Sykes

Independent Member
jomallards@yahoo.co.uk

Jo Sykes has lived all her life in West Yorkshire and spent the majority of her working career in West...

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