Manchester has welcomed a new Lord Mayor this week, and he’s ready to “serve hardworking Mancunians who want to see their beloved city thrive”.
Following Councillor Yasmine Dar’s departure from the role, Councillor Paul Andrews has now taken over the reins, and was officially appointed the new Lord Mayor of Manchester during a full Manchester City Council meeting yesterday (15 May).
This makes the “proud Mancunian” the 126th person to hold the Mayor title in the city’s history.
Born in Crumpsall, and spending the majority of his life living in the Bradford area of the city before moving to Wythenshawe in 1959, Cllr Andrews successfully completed an apprenticeship in the print industry following his graduation from Poundswick Grammar School in 1970.
His working life began as a baggage handler at Manchester Airport in 1978, but it was almost two decades before he started his politics career.
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Cllr Andrews was first elected to Manchester City Council in 1996, where he represented the Woodhouse Park Ward.
Manchester has welcomed ‘proud Mancunian’ Paul Andrews as the city’s new Lord Mayor / Credit: Manchester City Council
The “tireless work ethic” he demonstrated throughout his Airport career was carried over into his Councillor role, with other Manchester City Council members often noting his “outstanding” participation in committees, his serving on and completing of two terms on the Executive Committee, and his sitting on numerous governing bodies.
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Most notably, he was the Council’s Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing, and he also served on the Foster Panel for a decade too.
Even throughout his time as a Councillor, Paul was keen to keep to “his roots”, and chose to serve on the Manchester Airport Trust Fund and the Port Health Authority as a way of reflecting his “unflinching dedication” to “bettering Manchester”.
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) May 15, 2024
Celebrating carers is described as one of Cllr Andrews’ and his wife, Karen’s – who he has been married to since 1996, and has been a “steadfast supporter” in his duty to public life – “most revisited themes”, as he was known for being passionate about improving the livelihoods of vulnerable young people with help through volunteers and professional organisations.
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Outside of his political life, Cllr Andrews’ favourite way to pass the time is fishing, and he also likes to take regular visits to Ireland and Scotland with his family.
“To be appointed as Lord Mayor of this city is humbling and an utmost honour,” Cllr Andrews said after being appointed as the new Lord Mayor of Manchester yesterday.
He said the honour is one he “does not take lightly”.
“As I seek to serve hardworking Mancunians who want to see their beloved city thrive, under my tenure and through our core values of hard work, collaboration, and innovation, I aim to continue Manchester’s legacy of being a city that supports our residents to succeed,” Cllr Andrews concluded.
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
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Police are searching for a missing bride-to-be, with CCTV from the day she vanished released
Daisy Jackson
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright, releasing CCTV of her on the day she vanished.
Eren has been missing since 27 October, when she left her home address in Lytham St Annes.
Since then, her desperate fiancé has shared that her phone was last detected in Birkdale Southport at around 5.30pm that same day, and her bank accounts are empty.
He said last week in a post on Facebook: “Myself and the pets are freaking out not knowing where she is and if she is ok, she has been missing for nearly 12 hours.”
Eren was last seen just after 10am leaving her home on St David’s Road South.
She is described as white, 5’7″, slim, and with blonde hair. She also has tattoos of vines and a tree on her hand and arms.
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright. Credit: Fylde Police
Eren was last seen wearing a light olive green hoodie with a painting on the front, beige/cream wide leg pants, and worn white trainers.
Police have now shared the new CCTV image of Eren in the hopes that someone might know where she is, or have seen her.
Fylde Police also said they were ‘worried’ about her.
If you see Eren or know where she might be, call 999 quoting log 1309 of October 27th.
Leigh drug dealer jailed after being ‘caught red-handed’ by police
Emily Sergeant
A drug dealer known around the Leigh area has been jailed last week after police caught him ‘red-handed’.
Dawid Bialek, of no fixed abode, has been jailed after pleading guilty to four counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine), and handling stolen goods.
It comes after, on Monday 11 May 2026, officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who were patrolling on a canal towpath, near Quayside in Leigh, spotted 30-year-old Bialek attempting to discard a package in the water.
The package was subsequently recovered, and according to GMP, was found to contain multiple wraps of suspected Class A drugs.
Further enquiries then led police to an address in Leigh, where additional evidence linked to drug dealing was recovered – including suspected drugs, scales, empty wraps, and mobile phones.
Bialek was later bailed as police conducted further enquiries, but while that work was continuing, on Friday 19 June, officers carrying out plain-clothes patrols in the town centre saw Bialek in an alley just off the canal tow path, handing out wraps of heroin and crack cocaine to others.
He was once again stopped, searched, and found to be in possession of drugs and cash.
This time he was charged and able to be remanded. He appeared at court over the summer and plead not guilty to the charges brought against him, but as the investigation continued, examination of seized mobile phones uncovered further evidence of drug dealing activity – including messages, videos and notes consistent with the supply of Class A drugs.
Due to the quantity of evidence gathered and submitted to the CPS, Bialek changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court last week.
He has been jailed for a total of four years and nine months.
Following the sentencing, a spokesperson for GMP’s Leigh Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “The supply of Class A drugs causes significant harm within our communities and often exploits vulnerable people who are struggling with addiction.
“This result demonstrates our commitment to targeting those responsible for bringing drugs into Leigh and disrupting the criminality associated with them.”
Emily Sergeant -
16th May 2024 
