PRAYERS are back on the agenda after the new Calderdale mayor was sworn in.

Clr John Hardy reintroduced them ahead of council meetings after being elected as mayor for the coming year.

Earlier this year prayers at council meetings were ruled unlawful by a judge, but the new Calderdale mayor will hold prayer time before a meeting officially starts and members can decide if they wish to attend.

Yesterday the Skircoat councillor was elected Mayor of Calderdale and his wife of 44 years, Janet, will be Mayoress.

Barkisland-educated Clr Hardy said: “I am very proud and it is a privilege to be Mayor of Calderdale.

“I’ve been involved in the community in some form for almost 50 years and it is a great honour to represent them in this way.”

His year as mayor begins with a trip to the Buckingham Palace Garden Party next week.

The new mayor, who has two children and six grandchildren, has chosen Rastrick councillor Christine Beal as Deputy Mayor and her husband Peter will be consort.

Clr Beal said it was an “amazing honour and privilege” to be Clr Hardy’s deputy.

The new mayor has chosen the Community Foundation for Calderdale as his chosen charity of the year, which is a cause which supports the work of volunteers, community groups and charities.

And they have a lot to live up to – the outgoing mayor, Clr Nader Fekri, raised more than £25,000 in the last 12 months for his chosen charity, with a further £5,000 pledged for the Project Challenge.

It’s a charity which helps train young people between the ages of 16-24 and the money will fund a mini-bus for the teenagers and young adults and form a fundraising team for the future.

Clr Fekri will soon leave the council to move to Turkey with his family and he told his successor that he had seen the “best” of the Calderdale community and people who had the borough at their heart.