By John Baron
An Armley councillor has announced she will stand down at next May’s Leeds City Council elections.
Alice Smart was elected as a Labour councillor in Armley ward 12 years ago and is planning to spend more time with her two young children.
In a statement released this morning, Cllr Smart said: “After a lot of reflection, I’ve made the decision not to restand as a Labour councillor in Armley at next year’s local elections in order to spend more time with my two young children.
“It has been a huge privilege to serve this community for the past 12 years.
“During that time we’ve seen the introduction of a Cumulative Impact Policy for Armley Town Street, the return of Armley Festival, a new playground for Armley Park and progress made to deliver a Selective Licensing Policy to crack down on rogue private landlords.
“I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my wonderful ward colleagues and the people of Armley.”
Armley Labour Party has yet to announce a candidate for next May’s election.
Cllr Smart added: “Whoever is selected as the Labour Party candidate for Armley in 2026 will have my full support. I have never taken the support of local people for granted and we will work tirelessly to retain a strong Labour team in the ward.”
She had also been the chair of the council’s inner west community committee for several years.
Cllr Smart is married to Leeds South West and Morley MP Mark Sewards. They have two children.
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Will be much missed in Leeds West & Pudsey having played a leading role in securing the future of several projects over the years – not least the revival of Armley Festival.
Isn’t amazing how many husband and wife councillors there is nepotism at it’s finest