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John Cave appointed deputy mayor of Padiham, on edge of Burnley, and is likely to step up to mayor in a year’s time The British National party expects to see one of its members become mayor of a Lancashire town close to the scene of serious street violence a decade ago. John Cave, whose wife, Sharon Wilkinson, is a BNP county councillor for the small former mill town of Padiham, on the edge of Burnley, is likely to take over the office in a year’s time after being chosen as deputy mayor this week. The council has only parish status but Padiham retains the title of town and uses traditional civic regalia and the town hall to assert as much independence as it can against Burnley borough council. Cave joined the town council a year ago and a minority of fellow members had bridled at his bid for office. Cave said his role was non-political and the council was “about Padiham and not politics”. He said others had raised no objections and had supported him for the deputy mayor’s job as an out-and-out Padiham man. “This is my home town and I was born here. It is all about Padiham and Padiham is not about politics. “I will be raising money for charities – but they have to be in Padiham. For me Padiham is home and I think it could be a lot better. Keeping our town hall alive is one of the biggest jobs we’ve got.” The council bats single-mindedly for Padiham, a cluster of dark stone Pennine houses in a steep valley with the National Trust’s Gawthorpe Hall a famous link with the Bronte family, whose wealthy Liberal friends the Kay-Shuttleworths ran their cotton empire from the town. The hall houses Britain’s largest textile collection outside the Victoria and Albert Museum. Community relations have been strained by the BNP’s inroads, but the town council events have included a Balti evening at a British Asian restaurant, along with Remembrance Day celebrations and a Hallowe’en party. The bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev John Goddard, challenged Cave to give up his BNP associations in order to carry out his civic duties properly. He said: “It will be interesting to see if he acts in the best traditions of a mayor in the community, and I pray he does, as he will have to reject the philosophy of the BNP. “If he retains the BNP political philosophy then how can he expect to serve and represent the whole of the community?” BNP Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk