Meet the new Skegness Town Mayor - an IT expert, musician and former school teacher who plans to focus on "younger people"
A former school teacher who joined local politics in his mid 20s has become the new Skegness Town Mayor.
Woodland Ward councillor Dan Kirk was officially handed the chains by outgoing Mayor Coun Jimmy Brookes at a ceremony in Skegness on May 13.
Just over a year ago, the long-standing Tory councillor - who was elected onto the council 12 years ago - quit the party and announced he was joining Reform.
"The feedback I’ve had since then has been immensely positive,” said Dan, 37. “So many people said they had become disillusioned with the Conservatives. A lot of local people have reached out to me since.”
Coun Kirk says he was “born and bred in Skegness” and that one of his main priorities for the year is to ensure young people in the town have a voice in politics.
"I do want to focus on younger people,” He explains. “People in their 20s, 30s and 40s, are often so busy with families and both parents working, that they have become completely disillusioned and often don’t feel they have the time to engage with politics. But I’d like to offer them a voice, and also to highlight the importance of family roles, and how looking after the family and the home is a full-on job in its own right.”
In keeping with his aim to focus on young people, Coun Kirk has chosen his eldest daughter, 13 year-old Hannah, to fill the role of Mayor’s consort.
“My daughter said she would like to do it, and although she’s quite introverted, it will be a great experience for her meeting so many different people, and I know she’ll do a great job,” Coun Kirk says.
The mayor making ceremony also saw new Deputy Mayor, Coun Mark Dannatt, being handed his chains.
The drive to make a community impact seems to be in Coun Kirk’s genes – with various relatives taking up the role of Town Mayor in the past.
“I’m the third generation of my family to be Skegness Mayor, “ he explains. “In fact, there are six generations of my family that have been mayors if you include other towns.”
Regarding his roles outside of politics, he added: “I used to work at Skegness Academy as a computer sciences teacher and I now work in adult education and IT consultancy. I also do music producing in my spare time, mainly producing house, dance and garage tracks.”
His chosen charity for the year is Bob’s Brainwaves – a local charity supporting families of those suffering with Dementia.