Preston welcomes new Mayor

The city of Preston has formally welcomed Councillor Philip Crowe as its 696th Mayor for 2024/2025, a position that dates back to 1327.  

Councillor Crowe served as Deputy Mayor throughout 2023/2024 and has now become the Mayor following the completion of Councillor Yakub Patel's term in office.  

New Mayor of Preston, Councillor Philip Crowe said: "I am deeply honoured to serve the wonderful residents and communities of Preston as Mayor of the city. As a born and bred Prestonian I feel extremely privileged to hold this role and I am looking forward to the year ahead.” 

Cllr Philip Crowe was born in Preston at Mount Street hospital in December 1956. His mother was from Preston and his father came over from County Galway in the Republic of Ireland around 1949.  

The eldest of 10 children, Philip attended St. Gregory’s primary school, then St. Thomas More secondary school, followed by 12 months at Catholic college sixth form. 

After joining the Territorial Army at age 17, Philip began a career at the British Aircraft Corporation - now British Aerospace (BAE) - on Strand Road in August 1974, where he joined the planning department.  

Moving to Warton in 1981, Philip joined the Planning, Jig and Tool development office, moving to the Structural Engineering department in 1989. At the end of his career, Philip was mainly involved with health and safety for the company and logistics at BAE. An avid union member of 25 years, Phil worked was a rep then a senior rep and on the Warton BAE site committee. Following a 37-year career at BAE, Philip took voluntary redundancy in 2012 and decided to retire.  

First elected in 2010 as Councillor for Lea, Larches and Savick, Councillor Crowe joined various committees including Planning, Licensing, Taxi and Miscellaneous, Audit and Environmental, and was Chair of the Employment Committee.  

Dedicated to the local community, Cllr Crowe has been a school governor at Sacred Heart Catholic primary school for 35 years and was a governor at St Andrew’s primary school for 9 years and is currently a governor at Royal Cross school for deaf children.  

After retiring Philip joined a charity called FEW, (Furniture for Education Worldwide) who collect furniture that schools are throwing out and ship it to schools all over the world.   

So far, they have sent 118 containers to locations all over the world. They are currently concentrating on schools in The Gambia, where he visits two or three times a year.   

Let’s Grow Preston, Disability Equality NW and Furniture for Education Worldwide will be Cllr Crowe’s Mayoral Charities for 2024/2025.   

The Deputy Mayor for 2024/2025 is Cllr Sue Whittam.