Lydia Simmons

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Lydia Emelda Simmons is a Labour Party local politician in Slough, who had the distinction of being the first black, woman Mayor in England.

She has served as a Councillor on Slough Borough Council 1979-1994 and from 1999. Currently (May 2006) she is the longest serving member of the Council.

In 1983-1984 Lydia Simmons was Deputy Mayor of Slough. In 1984-1985 she served as Mayor (see List of Mayors of Slough). From 1985-1994 she was chair of the council committee responsible for housing.

After the introduction of cabinet government, in place of the traditional committee based administration, she was a cabinet commissioner 1999-2004 (Social Exclusion 1999-2002 and Neighbourhood Services 2002-2004). Simmons became shadow commissioner for Housing, after Labour went into opposition in 2004.

She is a member of the Board of People 1st Slough, the body which from January 2006 ran public housing in Slough as an arms length management organisation (ALMO).