Blyth Town Council found themselves in hot water during the summer of 2022 when the then ultra right wing Tory MP for Blyth Valley came out against the purchase of high quality regalia so that at public events local people could easily recognise the towns Mayor elect, the deputy mayor.
The objection by the MP against the proposal which was designed to bring Blyth in line with other large parish councils both locally and nationally did halt the regalia purchase by the council.
The publicity following this attack on the volunteer councillors working hard for their communities was seen as an attack on the Town itself, it drove down the MP’s popularity being branded a ‘Borisite’ verbally in pubs and clubs by Blyth’s Reform supporters losing out to Labour in the general election and losing the town Council to reform in the parish elections.
A recent suggestion by the Council has been another regalia purchase to aid them to enlist a cadet mayor for the Town.
The Council has pledged to spend £1,470 on regalia for the cadet mayor, a figure questioned by social media commentators as mean. People are asking if the largest town in Northumberland's cadet mayor will be asked to wear ‘pandora’ next to the civic mayor's glittering chains of office.
Key Details on Proposed Regalia:
Cost & Budget: The new proposal (as of Oct 2025) has an estimated cost of £1,470.00, which was to be sourced from savings within the Governance Committee budget.
Purpose: The new items are intended for official civic events, commemorating the town's traditions, and establishing a Mayoral Cadet role to encourage young people.
Previous Controversy: In 2022, the council faced significant backlash over a £15,000 expenditure on chains, with critics labeling it a waste of taxpayer money.
Usage: Official chains and robes are typically worn by the Mayor at civic functions and remembrance services.
The purchase for the cadet now branded in the second class and not quite what townsfolk want to see as an advert to improve the town's rundown reputation is not the only stumbling block to bringing in a cadet mayor.
Those in the know regarding looking after and not exploiting children and young people have submitted a freedom of information request into both the Town and Northumberland County Council whose role it is to ensure young folk are safeguarded which may throw the cat among the pigeons.
It's been estimated by wags that the safeguarding matters linked with the cadet mayor post will work out annually much more expensive than purchasing quality regalia for a deputy mayor each and every year a cadet is chosen and marched around the town.
The town council now being top heavy with volunteer councillors not holding advanced fully certificated checking papers known as DBS checks, may leave the council with a major eyeballing as it seems reform UK ltd the largest group on the council has more than its share of members nationally who aren't approved of by local residents with safeguarding and misogyny regularly mentioned in media reports. Therefore do the County Council social workers involved with safeguarding of children have faith that a Blyth cadet mayor will not be exposed to meeting undesirables during civic events? In Scotland the SNP have shown they can't!
Blyth Town Council to spend £15,000 on decorative chains for deputy mayor during cost of living crisis | Chronicle Live https://share.google/rRHnjszD5UJ8bLo86
https://youtu.be/BoHL9sIXA-k?si=xz7ciHSJopIbVKlE
Leaked recordings show SNP councillors backed Jordan Linden | The Herald
https://share.google/uys0iU6dSaGMQ76pT
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