New All-Female Leadership Team Announced for SMDC
- May 14
- 2 min read
Wednesday, the 13th of May 2026 saw Cllr. Linda Malyon take on the role of Chairman at SMDC, with Cllr. Lyn Swindlehurst taking on the role of vice chairman.
Outgoing chairman, Cllr Adam Parks, spoke of his "human sleeping pill" leadership strategy. By starting each meeting with a long speech, a calm atmosphere was created, which helped manage the difficult topics that have dominated this year of planning change. He also shared his experiences from his last two days in office, which could be titled "Two Queens and the King." His last local act was an official visit to a lady celebrating her 90th birthday, a lady who played a significant role throughout his own life—his mum. His last act of representing Staffordshire Moorlands was yesterday at the Royal Garden Party, where he met the King and Queen.
His charities, Biddulph Youth and Community Zone and Leek and District Samaritans, will benefit from the fundraising work undertaken during the year. He spoke openly about the difficulties he’d faced with his own mental health and how the support of the chamber had enabled him to press forward, not only to do the work but to champion mental health wherever he had the opportunity. He hopes his legacy will be one that enables Cllrs to speak openly and ask questions about mental health.
It’s a pivotal time for SMDC, as with LGR plans well on the way and both the legacy and corporate policies now in place, things should become more transparent. You can see the plans here:
Corporate Plan: https://highpeak.moderngov.co.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=52029
Sadly, Cheadle's outgoing mayor, Kate Mills, was not in Chambers to see the handover or to add her concerns to the questions raised about Cheadle assets by Cllrs. Aberbly and G. Bentley. More on that discussion to follow.
POV: We wish Cllrs Mallon and L. Swindlehurst well in their new roles, which will no doubt be challenging, and this resident dares to suggest that it seems to her sensible to adopt a more gender-neutral title for their roles, perhaps chairperson and vice-chairperson?
New All-Female Leadership Team Announced for SMDC created 14th May 2026
