Humour and emotion accompanied the election of Kirklees’ new mayor, with Batley councillor Gwen Lowe confessing it had been her ambition since she was a child.

She recalled writing a letter to the Dandy comic as a ten-year-old extolling the virtues of her home town.

And her voice trembled as she said: “Today that little girl stands before you with great pride.”

The ceremony in Huddersfield Town Hall saw Clr Lowe take over from Clr Christine Iredale. Her husband Ken will be her consort.

Dewsbury West councillor Mumtaz Hussain was elected as Deputy Mayor, with his wife Noreen, who he described as “the backbone of my career”, becoming Deputy Mayoress.

Clr Lowe will have two charities during her year as mayor: Kirklees Hospice and the RSCPA.

She also appointed the Rev Mark Umpleby as her chaplain but in a reflection of the borough’s diversity said she would be seeking to create an inter-faith chaplain group that reflected different religions.

“We have a lot more in common than that which divides us, as my late colleague Jo Cox said,” she added.

Clr Iredale said her tenure as mayor had been a privilege, and that when she was a teenager the role had been “beyond my wildest dreams.”

And she paid tribute to Huddersfield Town, saying the club’s elevation to the Premier League meant her year “could not have started better, so well done to David Wagner and the team.”

She and husband/consort Robert were described by Clr Cahal Burke as “a phenomenal team.”

The gift bearer during the ceremony was Clr Lowe’s 14-month-old grandson Max Greenwood, who was accompanied by his mother, Ashleigh.

The Mayor’s Cadet during 2018/19 will be 15-year-old Judah Cannon, from Fixby, a student of Colne Valley High School and a member of 59 Huddersfield Air Training Corps. He will support the mayor at military and other events.

Organ fanfares were provided by Caius Lee, 18, a former student of Greenhead College and currently assistant organist at Leeds Cathedral. He is about to go to Cambridge University to study music and organ scholarship.

And there were songs and hymns by the Staincliffe Singers, made up of pupils from Staincliffe C of E Junior School, plus Batley Girls’ Grammar School Alumnae.

The mace on display in the mayor-making ceremony was the Batley Mace, and Clr Lowe thanked the civic team at Huddersfield Town Hall for allowing its use.