SWINDON Borough Council's annual meeting will soon be seen on TVs in Bangladesh.

The centrepiece of the meeting - the first annual event to be held at the council chamber since May 2019 - was the election of the new mayor of Swindon.

And it was Councillor Abdul Amin – who came to this country from Bangladesh as a child - who was voted in after two years as deputy.

A TV crew from a Bangladeshi station filmed the meeting and Coun Amin’s swearing in.

It brings to an end the tenure of mayor Garry Perkins, who had a rare second year in post as the first had been so badly affected by Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions.

Nominating Coun Amin, his Labour colleague as member for Walcot and Park North Emma Bushell said: “I am sure you will serve the people of Swindon with the same qualities of humility, style and dedication as you have served your Walcot and Park North residents for 10 years.”

Coun Bushell praised Coun Amin’s “class and gravitas” saying he even looked smart in a high-vis jacket wielding a grabber on a litter pick.

Seconding the motion new labour leader Jim Robbins drew a laugh when he said Coun Amin “apparently commutes from Birmingham everyday”- a reference to the recent election campaign where Coun Amin held his seat but where there were suggestions his opponent had told residents he doesn’t live in Swindon but comes from Birmingham.

It is true that Coun Amin grew up in Birmingham.

He said: “As child moving to Britain without speaking a word of English, growing up in an overcrowded house on a Birmingham council estate, the thought I would become Mayor of Swindon, the town I have made my home for 30 years never occurred to me.”

He said: “My upbringing gave me an interest in politics and trying to help others.”

Coun Amin paid tribute to his ward and to Swindon, saying: “Walcot & Park North is considered a deprived area and with diverse communities. It’s been hugely rewarding helping others with whatever issues they have, and I shall continue.

“Swindon is a wonderful town and a place to live – but it’s the people here who make its such a great place.”

Coun Amin announced his selected charities for his mayoral year will be STEP Swindon, which works with disadvantaged young people in the town and, paying tribute to his Bangladeshi heritage, the Zam Zam Trust which helps the poor in that country.

His wife Subena will be his mayoress.

Coun Amin concluded: “I am proud to be mayor of Swindon, the town I value and the home I cherish.”

Coun Barbara Parry was unanimously elected to be deputy mayor. Her husband and fellow Conservative councillor Kevin was mayor for the year 2019-20