Judith Blake
Judith Blake | |
|---|---|
| Leader of Leeds City Council | |
| Assumed office 11 May 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Keith Wakefield |
| Leeds City Councillor for Middleton Park Ward | |
| Assumed office 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Jack Dunn |
| Leeds City Councillor for Hunslet Ward | |
| In office 2002 – 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Davies |
| Succeeded by | Ward abolished |
| Leeds City Councillor for Weetwood Ward | |
| In office 1996 – 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Ann Castle |
| Succeeded by | James Souper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Judith Parsons Leeds, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Residence | Otley, West Yorkshire |
| Alma mater | Leeds Girls High School University of Kent |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire 2017 |
Judith Blake CBE is a British Labour politician and the Leader of Leeds City Council since May 2015. She is also the first woman to hold the position.[1][2][3] In April 2019 was appointed to the board of the Northern Ballet.[4]
Personal life
Blake was born in Leeds into a Methodist family. Both her parents were doctors. She attended Leeds Girls High School in Headingley, before studying history at the University of Kent.
After university, Blake travelled the Middle East and her career also took her to live in both London and Birmingham.[5] She returned to live in Otley in 1992. She has four children.[6] Her youngest child, Olivia Blake, is currently Deputy Leader of Sheffield City Council.[7]
Career
Judith began her career in education and social policy, including teaching English to refugees whilst living in Birmingham in the 1980s.[6][5]
She served as an Otley town councillor,[6] and, except for a two-year gap after losing her seat in Weetwood at the 2000 city council election, has been an elected member of Leeds City Council since 1996.[2]
Judith served as the Deputy Leader of the Council for five years from 2010 to 2015. She was the Executive Cabinet Member for Children & Families during this period, overseeing the city's Children's Services' Ofsted rating change from “inadequate” to “good overall”.[2] She has been involved in a number of national legal campaigns, worked with education authorities in Yorkshire to raise school standards in the area, and worked on crises and issues with student grades and school placements throughout her career.[3]
She was elected as the first woman leader of the City Council in May 2015.[1] She currently chairs the Council's Executive Board, having also served on the boards for NHS Leeds and the West Yorkshire Police Authority too.
Blake twice contested the Leeds North West constituency as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the 2005 and 2010 general elections, losing to Greg Mulholland of the Liberal Democrats.
Awards
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) In the 2017 Birthday Honours[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Leeds City Council Elects Judith Blake as First Female Leader". BBC News. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Clr Judith Blake: Power list 2016". Northern Power Women. Retrieved 24 November 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Councillor Judith Blake "Honoured" to be Leeds' First Ever Female Council Leader". Yorkshire Evening Post. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ↑ "Northern Ballet appoints five new members to its Board of Directors". northernballet.com. Northern Ballet Limited. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/the-next-best-thing-1-2045707
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Judith Blake, Labour, Leeds North West". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ↑ http://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=11394
- ↑ Jack, Jim (22 June 2017). "Queen's Honour for Otley resident and city council leader Judith Blake". Wharfedale Observer. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
External links
- Judith Blake page at Leeds City Council
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