Reading's First Black Female Mayor Reflects on Year

The first black female Mayor of Reading, Councillor Alice Mpofu-Coles (Labour, Whitley), has reflected on her 2025/26 year after attending around 270 events, including schools, and passing the mayoral mace to Cllr Paul Gittings (Labour, Coley).

She opened by thanking "Almighty God" and told the town: "We call ourselves the Three Musketeers. I’m ever indebted to you and this town. It’s an amazing place to live.

Mpofu-Coles warned against divisive rhetoric aimed at refugees and asylum seekers, saying: "You can choose kindness and refuse hate. You can choose unity and refuse division."

She recalled fleeing her native Zimbabwe in the 2000s and made clear Reading is her home: "I am a Whitley girl, because this is my home now. You can choose not to look at someone’s agenda and choose empathy."

She also highlighted her chosen charities, the Utilivu Women’s Group, which supports refugees, and Readifood, adding: "There is war all over the world at the moment, I say, if you don’t want refugees, don’t have wars. Who seeks to be a refugee? Readifood feeds refugees."

On the civic role, she said: "Children remember everything about my hair! The Mayoralty is not in abstract, it’s about making people feel special. It is the first citizen of the town, to represent every individual. I chose to bring the office of Mayor to the grassroots. Thank you for the support."

Before her speech, her Whitley ward colleagues paid tribute. Deputy council leader Micky Leng praised the council’s climate resilience work and said the Labour council "walks the walk."

He thanked Mpofu-Coles: "Her lived experience has enabled her to be a listening mayor. She’s highlighted health inequalities and gender based violence. Alice is of the people for the people."

Cllr Rachel Eden added: "We’ve seen first hand her commitment to our ward [Whitley], even before she was elected. That approach has carried forward to her mayoral year. "She’s highlighted Violence Against Women and Girls. Alice has made an effort to connect with all residents."

The speeches were given at the annual meeting of Reading Borough Council on Wednesday, May 27.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter