New mayor welcomed to Rotherham at Town Hall ceremony

Incoming mayor councillor Khan has represented Rotherham East as a borough councillor since 2015.

Councillors paid tribute to retiring mayor, Councillor Jenny Andrews, and her hard work during the special full council meeting on Friday.

Councillor David Roche praised Coun Andrews, who is a front line nurse and worked through the pandemic.

“She’s also a person who cares deeply about Rotherham,” added coun Roche.

“I know Jenny as a caring individual, usually with a smile on her face, sometimes with a wicked twinkle.

“She’s honest, she’s direct, willing to help out, indeed, the position of mayor could have been made for her.

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“The fact that she’s been mayor through the Covid crisis has actually made the job harder – but I’m aware even with the restrictions she carried out her duties as far as she could, and sometimes beyond what others may have thought to do.”

Coun Khan was welcomed to the role during the meeting, and will be supported by deputy mayor, councillor Robert Taylor.

Coun Khan said: “The first time I even ever left Rotherham was to go to university in Sheffield and I’ve spent virtually all my life here. Rotherham has given a lot to me – and I like to think I’ve given a lot to it. I can’t describe how big an honour it is to serve as your Mayor.”

After attending Clifton School and Wath Sixth Form, Coun Khan went on to study Business IT at Sheffield Hallam University.

After jobs at Rotherham Tech, Rotherham Magistrates Court and Yorkshire Bank, Coun Khan began driving for a living – first as a taxi driver and for the last 20 years running his own Driving School business.

His work has given him a love of meeting new people, listening to them and finding out about the challenges they face. Encouraged by this to find a way he could make a difference for the people he spoke to, Coun Khan discovered local politics, culminating in him being elected as a Councillor in May 2015.

He said; “When you hear every day about the difficulties some people face, you want to do something about it. I was drawn to local politics and to representing the views of many people who feel they don’t have a voice – something I am extremely proud to do in my role as Councillor for Rotherham East.”

Coun Khan has selected Rotherham Hospital & Community Charity, Rotherham United Community Sports Trust, Shiloh and Rotherham Cancer Care Centre as his chosen charities.

He said: “I’m really keen to support the local charity, community and voluntary sector during my term in office.

"I’ve seen at first hand the tireless hard work that people put in to support others through local groups and I really want to shine a spotlight on these often-unsung heroes of our local communities”.

“The pandemic has been incredibly hard on everyone and I see a key part of my role as bringing our residents back together, opening up our doors again to welcome people to civic events and getting out and about into all our communities to highlight the best of Rotherham.”