Cllr Lauren Townsend, who was elected in 2019 to represent Bletchley West, has been appointed to the Cabinet of Labour-led Milton Keynes Council.
Cllr Townsend will cover the Climate Change portfolio while Cllr Jen Wilson-Marklew takes maternity leave. She will be leading on community safety and regulatory services.
Lauren has recently been leading work on reducing knife crime, and formerly organised protests in support of employees in restaurants being paid a real Living Wage and against unfair working conditions. She is also a spokesperson for the national Labour for a Green New Deal campaign that is seeking a radical step change in policies to tackle climate change.
She is the sixth woman in the executive of eight, which means 75% of the Labour Cabinet are women, one of the highest proportions in the country.
Cabinet members in Milton Keynes have the power to make decisions directly on the areas in their control subject to oversight by council rules.
Cllr Townsend, New Cabinet Member for Community Safety said: “I’m really pleased to be joining the Milton Keynes Cabinet. I understand this is a really difficult time for so many people, with the long-term impact of the Covid-19 crisis starting to emerge. The Labour-run council has managed the emergency well, with a level head and made sure people got help when they needed it. I’m proud of the work we’ve done as a council and I’m honoured to be able to work hard and play a part in running the city at such a vital time.”
Cllr Peter Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes Council, added: “I’d like to welcome Cllr Townsend to the Cabinet. The policy areas she will cover are vital to the recovery of Milton Keynes from the Covid-19 crisis. She will help take forward our ambitious £2bn recovery plan to put MK at the heart of the green revolution, and enable some real change in sustainable transport with the £3m we have set aside as part of the biggest recovery package in the U.K. She will be great cover for Cllr Wilson-Marklew in the short term and I’m sure she has a great future in the longer-term.”
