Councillor Richard Greening, one of the borough’s longest serving elected members, is the new Mayor of Islington, it was announced last night Thursday.Cllr Greening was first elected more than 20 years ago and represents Highbury West ward. He says he wants to use his tenure to champion charities through the choppy waters of severe budget cuts.His wife, Patricia Bradbury, who held the post of mayor back in the early 1970s, will be his consort.His charity for the Mayoral year will be Music First.He said: “Music First helps children in many ways and not just with music – it influences the other aspects of their lives. Last summer, we attended a concert at the Hackney Empire organised by this charity. Children from many Islington schools were involved and both the children and the audience enjoyed the event immensely.”The deputy mayor of Islington for the next year will be Cllr Kat Fletcher.After a career in IT, Cllr Greening worked for the Local Government Association, helping councils throughout England improve services and spread good practice in housing and rural affairs.He was first elected to serve as a councillor for Gillespie ward in 1994 and has represented Highbury West ward since 2002. He takes over the role of mayor from fellow ward Cllr Theresa Debono.There will be no change of executive members on the council this year.

• Keywords
  COUNCILLORS, MAYORS
• Geographical keyword
  HIGHBURY
• Persons keyword
  Richard Greening