New baroness 'to bang drum for North' in Lords

West Yorkshire's deputy mayor has promised to champion "the rights of people in the North" after being sworn into the House of Lords.

Alison Lowe became Baroness Lowe of Armley, in honour of the ward she represented as a Leeds city councillor for 29 years, at a ceremony on Tuesday.

Lowe, who has been West Yorkshire's deputy mayor with responsibility for policing and crime since 2021, said she was "gobsmacked" to have been appointed to the upper chamber.

She added that the role, which she said was "the honour of my life", would not compromise her job as deputy mayor for policing and crime in the region, which she is due to continue until 2028.

Leeds-born Lowe has previously spoken of her experiences as a survivor of domestic and sexual abuse.

Besides her role as a councillor, she was also a long-serving chief executive of the mental health charity Touchstone and worked for a number of causes related to homelessness.

Lowe said: "It's a very surreal thing for a girl from Seacroft, who never thought in a million years that this is where I'd end up.

"There are so many things I think I can bring some credibility to, and some lived experience as well.

"But I'm also really open to understanding about different areas. I don't just want to stick with the things I know.

"Every day is a school day and an opportunity for me to learn and be better."

One of 26 new entrants to the House of Lords, all of whom were put forward as one of the last acts of Sir Keir Starmer's term as prime minister, Lowe said she would use the role to pursue greater regional equality.

She said: "Government over many, many generations has been very London-focused and very south-east focused."

"If you look at any of the data about spending per head, the South always gets more than what we do in the North.

"We need to have those northern voices championing the rights and entitlements of people in the North.

"We are as valuable, we are as clever, and we are able to contribute so much more if we get the opportunity, so I'll definitely be banging that drum."

Lowe said she would not stand for re-election as deputy mayor when her current term ended in 2028, although West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin has said she would stand again.

Lowe said she anticipated being at the Lords for "three to four days a month" on average, but insisted it would not compromise her deputy mayor role.

She added: "I envisage it won't have a massive impact. Tracy and I work most evenings and most weekends.

"We don't have a nine-to-five, 37-hour-a-week job.

"I am confident that I'll be able to do my job here in West Yorkshire and do what I need to do in the House of Lords.

"Until my term ends, I'm prioritising West Yorkshire - as I always have done and as I always will do."

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