At the council’s annual meeting, boos were heard from the public gallery as the Reform administration broke precedent.

The councillor who was set to become Mayor of Barnsley was forced to step in at a Refugee Week event at the town hall due to the mayor’s absence.

Labour councillor Jo Newing was the Deputy Mayor alongside the previous Mayor David Leech for 2025/26.

Cllr Newing was expected to become the next mayor, until the new Reform administration broke precedent at the council’s annual meeting, appointing one of their own councillors as mayor.

On Thursday, June 18, she stepped in to give a speech and present prizes at the town hall event for Refugee Week, following the mayor’s absence.

Previous refugees that now lived in the borough also spoke and gave their stories.

The event organised by Barnsley Borough City of Sanctuary, featured musical performances, and an award presented to Horizon Community College who were named the School of Sanctuary status.

Cllr Nicola Sumner, who attended the event, gave her thoughts on the initial snub to Cllr Newing.

“I felt for Jo on a personal level, we all did [in Labour]. Joe had been in training for a full year. She’d done the graft, she’d been to all of those different mayoral events.

“I think on a personal level, the rug got pulled under the feet of Jo.”

“In terms of the role of civic mayor, they’re the first representative of the borough, and we’ve always had a protocol that the deputy mayor follows,” she said.

Cllr Sumner said she felt that the decision for Mayor Liam Hardcastle to not attend was a political one.

“It’s just such a shame that in a civic representative role, they weren’t able to put aside political differences.

“The message that got read at the event was that the mayor said the timing and event did not align with his priorities at the moment. In what way does it not align? I think that’s just a really unfortunate use of words.”]

When approached for a comment, Barnsley Council said: “The Mayor was unable to attend due to a pre-existing councillor commitment. Unfortunately, the Deputy Mayor was also unavailable at the time.”