Home

Cllr Taylor has represented Chapel Allerton wards on Leeds city council since 2008, and is proud to live and work in her ward. Prior to becoming a councillor, she worked in mental health, which she remains passionate about. Since being elected, she has had many roles on the council, including her appointment as the first black Lord Mayor for the city, between 2019-2021 (a 2-year tenure due to the pandemic). Cllr Taylor has sat on several council committees including as chair of the Community Committee, and the Planning Panel, and as a member of the Health & Wellbeing, Children Scrutiny, Development Plan Panels. She has been a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, and has chaired Austin’s and Disabilities Partnership Board and the Learning Disability Partnership Board. In addition, she is the Health and Wellbeing champion for the Community Committee. At Leeds Council, Cllr Taylor is the Lead member for Race Equality and Windrush. She describes herself as very outspoken and passionate about the work she does, always working to achieve the best outcomes for the people of Leeds and West Yorkshire.

Cllr Buckley has represented Alwoodley Ward on Leeds City Council since 2012 and was a founder member of Alwoodley Parish Council from 2008 until stepping down in 2023. He is a member of the Licensing Committee on Leeds City Council, and a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee. He strongly believes in a cohesive and law-abiding community.

Cllr Ferguson has lived in West Yorkshire all of her life with her partner, two daughters, four granddaughters and a close extended family full of strong women. She grew up in a mining community, and was inspired to go into community politics by her politically savvy mam. She is now in her third year of representing Airedale Ward on Wakefield Council. Cllr Ferguson went to University as a mature student following the yearlong miners strike, and was the first member of her family to do so. After graduating, she worked as a lecturer in Psycho / Social Sciences at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield for twenty five years before leaving to become a district councillor. She has particular interests in public health, social inequalities and diversity, equality and inclusion. Cllr Ferguson is interested in the relationship between policing, crime and all aspects of social inequality and hopes to usefully bring her knowledge, understanding and expertise in these areas to the Panel.

Cllr Khan has represented Bowling and Barkerend ward on Bradford Council since 2012. Since being elected he has held many roles on the Council including Chair of the Bradford East Area Committee and as a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee. Cllr Khan is passionate about the local community he represents and strongly feels that they should feel safe, secure and protected in their homes and community.

Trevor Lake is an experienced NHS Trust Chair, Vice Chair, Non-Executive Director and Governors Chair with experience of living and working across West Yorkshire and the wider region, including Mid-Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust, NHS Calderdale Primary Care Trust and as a Governor at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. He has also been an Independent member of the West Yorkshire Police Authority and Independent Chair of the Joint Audit and Ethics Committee for the West Yorkshire Police Commissioner and West Yorkshire Police, an Accredited Peer Assessor for HMIC & the Audit Commission and a Senior Officer Selection Assessor for the National Police Improvement Agency. Trevor has a Master's Degree in East Asian (China) Culture and Societies Studies from the University of Leeds and experience as a Director in private sector companies working with organisations and local government in the UK and in China.

Sue lives in Newsome and was first elected in 2019 to represent the Newsome Ward in Kirklees. She is proud to live and work in her ward and is actively involved with local community groups and third sector organisations; she chairs the Newsome Ward Partnership and sits on the Kirklees Neighbourhood Improvement Board working hard to improve the neighbourhood and environment for residents. She has a background in education and enjoys working with young people and works with local schools and colleges; this gives her some insight she hopes will inform her contribution to this panel.

Nicole has represented the Temple Newsam Ward in East Leeds since 2019. Since 2015, she has worked as a Senior Caseworker for Richard Burgon, Member of Parliament for Leeds East. Prior to this, from 1991 to 2015, Nicole worked for a firm of Solicitors, where she predominately worked in Criminal Law. Since being elected and working within her community, amongst other things she has sat on the Environment, Housing & Communities Scrutiny Board. Nicole feels that the knowledge she has gained working within criminal law, as a caseworker in a constituency office and as a Councillor, has made her even more passionate about local people and local politics. She feels that everyone should be protected and feel safe in their community.

Cllr Anthony Smith lives in Lindley and has represented the Lindley Ward in Kirklees since 2019. He is actively involved with local community groups and chairs the Lindley Community Ward Partnership, a forum for local groups and third sector organisations to share ideas and information and work together to deliver services to every section of the community. Anthony has a B.Sc. (Hons) in Business Information Systems and works as a National Account Manager for a leading software provider to the automotive industry.

Paul is a member of Bradford Council and represents the Bingley Rural ward.

Jo Sykes has lived all her life in West Yorkshire and spent the majority of her working career in West Yorkshire Local Authorities. Jo commenced her working career in Education Services, working with school Governing Bodies, Parental Complaints and then with the Behaviour Support Services. It was this work that lead to her developing an interest in Community Safety. From 2000, Jo has worked as Community Safety Manager in different Local Authorities delivering the statutory requirements of the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) and working to promote a partnership approach to addressing the challenges of crime and disorder. In 2009 Jo was appointed Head of Safer and Sustainable Communities in a South Yorkshire Local Authority, but is now on secondment working across South and West Yorkshire on a Youth Justice Board project. Jo has a degree in Management Administration, Post-Graduate Certificate in Community Safety and a Diploma in Management Studies. In her free time Jo is involved with amateur dramatics - being a performing member of 2 local groups - she also works to promote Girlguiding locally through marketing and PR. Jo enjoys holidays and time with her family.

Councillor Robert Thornber has represented Ryburn Ward on Calderdale Council since 2021, Robert's ward is predominantly rural, and he is proud to live and work in the ward he represents. Cllr Thornber is a member of Calderdale Council’s Planning and Licensing Committee as well as the Strategy & Performance Committee. In addition, he is a member of Ripponden Parish Council representing Barkisland Ward, Cllr Thornber has a specific interest in cross border working and sharing information with other police forces, representing as he does a ward which borders Rochdale and Oldham, within close proximity to the M62.