Former mayor appointed MBE in New Year Honours

A former mayor of Wolverhampton has described being appointed an MBE as "amazing".

Long-serving councillor Claire Darke has been recognised in the New Year Honours list for her work in local government, helping those with disabilities and preventing suicide.

The 65-year-old has been a councillor for approaching two decades, and said she was surprised when she got a letter from the Cabinet Office.

"You just think what the hell is this, why are they contacting me?" she joked.

Darke made headlines in June when she quit the Labour Party with a critical open letter to leader Keir Starmer, accusing the party of straying from its core values and marginalising diverse voices.

As mayor of the city between 2019 and 2021, she made the Wolverhampton Suicide Prevention Stakeholder Forum one of her chosen charities.

She told the BBC this was to raise awareness and shed light on some of the work being done.

"A lot of people don't want to talk about it," she said. "It's quite a dark subject.

"We're all vulnerable to dark times. We all need a plan, we need to be aware of how we can lift our own mood and what makes us feel a bit brighter on a dark day."

Disability is also an issue that means a lot to Darke. Her husband, Dr Paule Darke, is a disability rights activist and wheelchair user.

She said the pair would be celebrating her honour with a glass of orange juice or fizzy water.

"It's lovely really that somebody has taken the time to fill in all the forms and put me forward," she said.

Darke grew up in Woking in Surrey but moved to the Black Country after getting a job in Bilston.

She then went to university in Wolverhampton as a mature student and said the city had been "very good to her" and was becoming a desirable place to live.

"It has enabled me to find myself really," she said. "I came here from somewhere else and I was a bit lost.

"I think there's lots of good people here and we're all trying to do good and creative things.

"Wolverhampton is definitely on the up."

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