Mayor Jilly Hart at the double

Councillor Jilly Hart was voted in as Mayor for a second year at the annual meeting of Crawley Borough Council on Friday (26 May).

Jilly is only the third Mayor to serve two consecutive terms of office after Councillor Alf Pegler in 1982 to 1983 and 1983 in 1984 and Councillor Sally Blake in 2006 to 2007 and 2007 to 2008.

Councillor Hart represented Ifield ward between 2019 and 2021 and was again elected in Ifield ward in 2022. She was born in Ealing, West London and moved to Ifield when she was 18 months old, later attending St Francis and St Wilfrid’s schools.

Councillor Hart, who is now retired, has three children and two grandchildren. Two of her children and one of her grandchildren will be consorts for her Mayoral year.

The Mayor’s charity for 2023 to 2024 is The Crawley and Horsham Breakfast Club, a group for military veterans which is part of the network of Armed Forces and Veterans’ Breakfast Clubs in the UK.

The club meets weekly and provides veterans of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines the chance to meet face to face in a relaxed environment with support, chat and a great breakfast. For more information about The Crawley Breakfast Club visit the Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Clubs' website.

Councillor Kiran Khan was elected Deputy Mayor at the Annual Council meeting.