BARNSLEY’S Reform group made an unprecedented decision last week when they elected their own mayor rather than allowing the current deputy to take up the role.
The mayor is a ceremonial post held by a member of the council and elected every May by full council during an official mayor making ceremony in the town hall.
The mayor is the town’s first citizen and is honoured with the civic responsibility of representing and promoting the borough and our communities.
But, for the first time in the borough’s history, the current deputy Councillor Jo Newing was not elected with Reform instead appointing their own mayor in Councillor Liam Hardcastle.
Councillor Hardcastle said: “I am truly honoured to be chosen as the civic Mayor of Barnsley for 2026-27 and would like to thank my colleagues for their support.
“This is a responsibility I take on with pride, and I look forward to serving the people of Barnsley with dedication, respect, and commitment.
“Barnsley is a borough built on strong communities, kindness, and resilience, and I am proud to represent it.
“I’m pleased to support BIADS and Barnsley Hospital Charity as my chosen charities this year.
“Both do incredible work for people and families across our borough.
“My theme for the year is family and community, focusing on bringing people together, strengthening connections, and supporting one another.”
Councillor Newing told the Chronicle: “I’m just really sad because it’s not a political position, it’s a ceremonial position to promote Barnsley.
“I’ve been preparing for this for over a year.
“I thought long and hard about putting myself up as deputy mayor, even before I agreed to it.
“It was a serious, considered choice that I made.
“I just feel it’s very sad that they’ve taken this view and that they couldn’t support me for one year in doing this ceremonial role.
“It’s never happened before.
“In Doncaster they let their deputy be mayor for a year and there’s no reason why they couldn’t have done that apart from maybe naivety.
“It’s not a political position so why be political about it?”
Hoyland Milton councillor Michael Davies was selected as Coun Hardcastle’s deputy and one of their first acts was to dramatically cut the cost of the mayor’s luncheon.
The original cost of the meal was expected to be £2,475.
But, instead of hosting a two-course meal, the new mayor instead chose to have a buffet and cut his guests from 30 to 15.
Councillors each contributed £10 towards the meal and the overall cost of the luncheon came to less than £370.
Coun Hardcastle said: “I wanted this year’s Mayor Making luncheon to be respectful of taxpayers’ money while still providing an opportunity to celebrate this important civic occasion.
“By making a few common-sense changes, we’ve been able to reduce costs significantly and deliver better value for residents.”
