From council estates and foster care to Manchester's new lord Mayor
22.05.2022 - 13:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Manchester's new Lord Mayor says she 'would never have dreamed' of being appointed to the civic role after growing up in care from the age of six months. Clayton and Openshaw councillor Donna Ludford, who became Lord Mayor of Manchester this week (May 18), wants to 'break down barriers' while in office.
The 53-year-old follows Labour colleague Tommy Judge who served 18 months in the ceremonial job, undertaking 518 engagements in that time. But the new Lord Mayor says she wants to draw on her experience of growing up in the care system to support and inspire young people across Manchester.
"I lived on many of our council estates across this city – all of them only just a few miles away from this town hall," she said. "Back then, I would never have dreamed for one second that someone like me could be elected as the Lord Mayor of Manchester."
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Born at the Duchess of York Hospital in Burnage, Donna was put in care when she was just six months old after both her parents were in a major accident. She was 'pushed from pillar to post', living in more than a dozen foster homes from Benchill to Hale and moving around as many schools from the age of 12.
As a child, she was ill-treated by adults she says were 'supposed to be in my life to protect and care for me'. She left school with no qualifications, no aspirations and no hope of achieving.
But at the age of 16 she finally 'got a break' and found a loving foster parent, Patricia, who would tell her 'you can do anything, Donna – anything you want'. However, life as a teenager was not easy – especially in the 1980s, she said.
"The constant upset of having to move and trying to start again, fitting