Leeds Councillor Caroline Gruen pays tribute to ‘fantastic community’ as she prepares to stand down after 12 years

Caroline Gruen will not seek re-election for the city’s Bramley and Stanningley ward next year, party figures confirmed earlier this week.

Coun Gruen said serving the community in public office had been a “significant part of my life” and that she would continue to “give my all” for residents until the local elections next May. Adele Rae has been confirmed as Labour’s new candidate for the ward.

In a statement on Thursday, Coun Gruen said: “Being an elected councillor for my ward of Bramley and Stanningley since 2012 has not only been a great privilege for me, but it has also been very rewarding in being able to support the community and assist individual constituents.

“Bramley is a fantastic community and I have been able to give voice to our needs and aspirations by serving the fabulous Bramley Baths Board; the very hard-working Bramley Elderly Action group, BARCA, who make such a difference to our youth provision and support so many people struggling to overcome addiction mental health conditions and homelessness; Hollybush Primary School, a great beacon of aspiration for its children and families; and the Leeds West Academy where I chair the Local Accountability Board.”

Coun Gruen paid tribute to her former ward and party colleague, the late Ted Hanley, who represented Bramley and Stanningley between 2003 and 2015, and name-checked her fellow serving councillors, Kevin Ritchie and Tom Hinchliffe, as well as Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves, and endorsed Ms Rae as the party’s new candidate for the ward.