City's first Asian mayor is 'symbol of progress and possibility'

A new mayor has been elected at Sunderland City Council who will be the youngest ever councillor in the role and first mayor of Asian descent.

- by Chris Binding

The new Mayor and Mayoress of Sunderland were officially sworn in at a meeting of full council at City Hall.

Councillor Ehthesham Haque, Barnes ward representative, will take on the ceremonial role of mayor with support from Hendon ward councillor Lynda Scanlan as mayoress.

The pair took over the ceremonial chains of office from retiring mayor councillor Allison Chisnall and consort Mr Alistair Thomson, following their year attending hundreds of engagements across the city.

Sunderland's new mayor, Cllr Haque, is the city's youngest aged 28 and is also the city's first mayor of Asian descent.

Cllr Haque has lived in Sunderland since the age of 10, after relocating with his family from London and was a former pupil of Richard Avenue Primary and Thornhill Comprehensive, before continuing his studies at Sunderland College, the University of Sunderland and later Cambridge University.

He was elected as a Labour councillor for Barnes in 2023, works as a civil servant and has a strong passion for politics and community service, and was also governor at his former primary school prior to becoming deputy mayor.

Cllr Haque lives with his wife and family in Sunderland.