New Children’s Mayor of Leeds pledges action on bullying, equality and poverty
Leeds has officially elected a new Children’s Mayor, who has pledged to tackle bullying, discrimination, and poverty in the year ahead.
Sienna Silva-Farber, aged 10, has been unveiled as the new Children’s Mayor of Leeds for 2025 and 2026 after a nail-biting election that saw a record 7,688 children cast two votes each amongst 12 shortlisted candidates.
A pupil at Harewood C of E Primary School, Sienna’s winning manifesto focused on the need to celebrate diversity and tackle bullying and discrimination. Sienna pledged: “We must work together to create a safe, accepting environment for all”.
Sienna is Leeds’ 22nd Children’s Mayor, with her appointment officially announced by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Dan Cohen, at a special event at Leeds Civic Hall.
Sienna said: “I still can’t believe I was chosen for this role - the other candidates were great and it was tough competition especially coming from such a small school as Harewood Primary.
“I’m looking forward to hopefully making some important changes on the way we can tackle bullying.
“Leeds is an amazing city, with lots of different voices - I want to be able to celebrate us all.”
Her ceremonial role began over the weekend, when she attended the Remembrance Sunday service at the Victoria Gardens War Memorial to pay tribute alongside the Lord Mayor, Vice Lord Lieutenant, local MPs, and other civic representatives.
On Wednesday (November 12), she will also deliver her manifesto in a speech to a meeting of the full council.
Councillor Helen Hayden, the council’s executive member for children and families, said: “Huge congratulations to Sienna on being elected as the 22nd Children’s Mayor of Leeds.
“Her winning manifesto is really inspiring and echoes a lot of the important work going on within the council and across the city, such as our new anti-discrimination campaign launched earlier this year.
“It’s so important to give our children and young people a voice and it’s great to see them engage in the process of democracy and learn how they can help make a difference in Leeds.”
Leeds children’s mayor programme is designed to help young people across the city develop a better understanding of democracy and the importance of voting, as well as thinking about the meaningful role they could play in improving communities.
Lord Mayor Cohen said: “It’s incredible to see so many of our young people vote in these elections this year, with each candidate attracting at least 900 votes.
“I’m delighted this annual project really captures the interest of children and young people across Leeds, encouraging them to have their say and recognise that their actions can influence change.
“Congratulations again to Sienna and all the finalists – they are truly inspirational and should be extremely proud of their achievements.”