Councillor Alan Fleming has been elected as the Mayor of Walsall for the next 12 months. The retired police officer and scuba diving instructor said it was ‘a great honour’ to be chosen for the position.
Background of the New Mayor
Councillor Fleming, aged 71, was born in Northern Ireland but moved to Streetly in 1966. After attending Streetly Comp, he joined the Warwickshire Police Cadets and went on to join West Midlands Police in 1974. He was deployed to Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, in the eighties as a trained firearms officer during the independence elections. For his service, he was awarded the Queen’s Rhodesia Medal (QRM) and the Zimbabwe Independence Medal for service in a war zone.
After retiring from the police in 2004, he worked overseas as a scuba diving instructor and later as a driving examiner for the army, helping to prepare troops for deployment to Afghanistan. He currently serves as chair of the Grosvenor Park football club committee and deputy chair of the Sutton and District Sunday Football League committee. In his free time, Councillor Fleming enjoys golf at Sutton Coldfield Golf Club and dives with Sutton Coldfield Sub-Aqua Club.
Appointment and Reactions
The Reform councillor for the Streetly ward replaces the previous Mayor of Walsall, Louise Harrison, who was councillor for the Bloxwich West ward until the recent election. Councillor Fleming’s wife, Sue Fleming, was appointed as the Mayor’s consort on Monday evening.
He said: “It is a great honour to be appointed Mayor of Walsall. Public service has been at the heart of my career in policing, and I am proud to have the opportunity to represent our borough over the coming year. I would also like to thank Louise Harrison for her dedication and service during her term of office. I look forward to meeting residents, supporting local organisations and businesses, and celebrating everything that makes Walsall such a special place.”
His chosen charities for the year are Streetly Sports and Community Association and Caldmore Village Festival Ltd.
In his appointment on Monday night, opposition members said Reform UK had broken ‘tradition, convention and culture’. Leader of the Walsall Community Independents, Councillor Aftab Nawaz, said members had previously been chosen for Mayor based on their length of service as a councillor, rather than their political group. In nominating Councillor Fleming, leader of the Reform group Councillor Elaine Williams said he was known for his charity work and would ‘make a good Mayor’.
