TALK about "party" politics!

A last-minute swap of engagements for the Mayor of Macclesfield and her deputy has led to raised tempers at the town hall.

Deputy mayor Councillor Alift Harewood was expecting to attend the Lord Mayor of Chester’s Banquet on Saturday March 28 with her consort son.

But just over 24 hours before the party – with her new dress already bought – Alift was told she would instead be going to a concert in Macclesfield.

Mayor of Macclesfield, Coun Thelma Jackson, who was set to attend the concert, would instead go to the banquet – the final official function for mayors before the Cheshire East changeover – Coun Harewood was told.

While the swap of engagements was described by Macclesfield Borough Council as a "unique circumstance" for the outgoing mayor, the deputy did not see it that way.

A fuming Alift said: "The mayor’s secretary rang me on Friday lunchtime (March 27) and told me I was not going to the Chester Banquet, as the mayor preferred to be with other mayors.

"Two or three minutes later, I got another call from the secretary saying that, because my son had to come from Yorkshire, it was more convenient that she went to Chester and we go to the Macclesfield event.  She had known about this since February, but changed her mind one day before the event.  My son has come over from Yorkshire before. We have always been on time. To blame us I find sick. It’s unjust."

She added that, as mayor, the convention is to accept the first invitation, in this case the Macclesfield Male Voice Choir Concert, at the King’s School.

Coun Jackson said: "We have always taken the first invitation, but this was the last event for the mayor, and it seemed right for me to attend. It was cleared by the chief executive."

Macclesfield MP Sir Nicholas Winterton attended the King’s concert, describing it as "wonderful".

But he added that, as the last mayor, Coun Jackson’s attendance in Chester was "totally understandable".

An MBC spokesman said: "The mayor had expected to have another opportunity to meet with all the civic dignitaries in Cheshire, but had realised the Lord Mayor’s Banquet was the final time.  In these unique circumstances, the mayor and deputy mayor agreed to exchange engagements."