New council leader 'wants to make a difference' during her short time in charge

After illness forced her to leave her job as a nurse 15 years ago and into politics, Mary Lanigan said she wanted to make a difference.

Now the new leader of Redcar and Cleveland says has the chance to do just that.

Cllr Lanigan, who lives in Easington and represents the Loftus ward, told The Gazette: “I was driving back from work at North Tees hospital when I suffered a bleed into the base of my brain, and I was ill after that.

"My balance had gone, and because I worked on an acute ward, I was useless to them.

“That’s when I became involved with the town council, because a resident asked me to get involved. I was then asked to stand for the borough council, and I have to say I wasn’t keen at first.

“I think people have an idea of those involved in politics, they’re not very popular, and to be honest I didn’t want to get involved in it.

“I wanted to stay independent and try and do my best for residents, and that’s still my aim now.”

Cllr Lanigan was born and raised in Liverton Mines and has been married for 45 years to husband Mike, has two children and five grandchildren.

When voted in on Thursday, she became the first female leader in Redcar and Cleveland Council’s history.

“People have actually brought that up, that I am a woman,” said Cllr Lanigan.

“Of course it makes no difference and I think I’m tough enough to do the job.

“I have been on the council for a long time, and I have been on the cabinet before and I believe I did a good job.”

Cllr Lanigan, 64, is only in the post until May’s election, and one of her first jobs will be to present a budget to the council.

Her new deputy, Cllr Josh Mason, said he would call for a council tax cut for residents, and Cllr Lanigan is looking forward to making a mark.

She continued: “We have a lot to do as a council. As an independent, I don’t get involved in party politics so I will be looking to make the right decisions for the people who live in the borough.

“That’s difficult because it is such a diverse area, we have the moors, the coast, urban and industrial areas. But I think that’s what makes it.

“I think people are getting tired of what happens in Westminster. They care about when their bins get collected, about street lighting, about dog fouling, about their rates.

“The future is bright for independent, community politics and I think that will be shown in the next elections.”