A councillor who has served Reading for 50 years is set to become the new mayor of the town.

It has been announced that councillor Tony Page (Labour, Abbey) will be the Labour administration’s nominee for mayor for the 2023-24 municipal year.

Cllr Page is currently the deputy leader of Reading Borough Council, a role he will step down from if he becomes mayor.

It is proposed that cllr Liz Terry (Labour, Coley) will become the new deputy leader.

The appointment of the mayor and any changes to the administration will take place at the annual general meeting of the council in Reading Town Hall on Wednesday, May 24.

The change in personnel has been announced by the council, and was also teased when the Local Democracy Reporting Service interviewed council leader Jason Brock (Labour, Southcote) on Monday, May 15.

During that interview, cllr Brock said: “Cllr Page will be our nominee for the mayoralty to give him a sort of celebratory moment in his 50th year on the council, and I’m delighted to say that the new deputy leader will be cllr Terry, who’s a phenomenally experienced individual has been a councillor for some years, and was in many councils up and down the country.

“She comes to the role with lots of brilliant experience and is exactly the kind of deputy leader we need to sort of push ourselves forward in the context of everything we’re trying to achieve.

“But I do want to pay absolute tribute to Tony’s work here over so many years.

“50 years on the council is a really phenomenal achievement.

“And I would hope that everybody up and down Reading will recognise that and, and hopefully they’ll see him out and about wearing the mayoral chain over the next year.”

On her part, cllr Terry said: “I’m both humbled and privileged to be selected as Deputy Leader by colleagues.

“As someone who was born and grew up in Reading, I am very proud of Reading and how it has developed over time.

“ I like to think I have a good understanding of what makes our great town tick, and I am very much looking forward to working with Jason to continue to build on the many successes of the town whilst continuing to meet the challenges, such as the cost of living crisis, that is impacting everyone.

“The role of a local Council is incredibly wide and varied.

“In Reading that means always striving for excellence in the essential day-to-day services we deliver, which I am passionate about.

“It also means delivering on our programme of modernising facilities for residents, maintaining Reading’s powerful local economy and using that economic strength to bring tangible benefits to communities who perhaps do not always enjoy the same life chances.

“The Council’s ethos is to maximise Reading’s potential so that everyone can share in the benefits of its success, and I look forward to getting on with the job.”