Macclesfield's deputy mayor is hoping for a dramatic improvement in her performance – she is studying for a degree in contemporary theatre practice.

Macclesfield West and Ivy councillor Alift Harewood  already has an honours degree in social sciences and a masters in politics. She  begins her second year on the theatre  course in September and hopes it will make her a better councillor and speaker,  develop her creative awareness and prepare her to  take over as mayor next year.

The mother of four and  grandmother of 10, who is still a practising nurse,  said: “I started the course before I knew I was going to be re-elected, but I feel that the skills I have been learning are all transferable to help me be a good speaker and councillor.

“I take my philosophy of care into work and politics. You can’t help being influenced by your political beliefs at work or council.

“The course has taught me about using creative space, costume, direction and how to use my voice and how to express myself and my beliefs.” Alift  grew up with her grandpa ents on a sugar plantation in Guyana. 

She won a  scholarship to become a nurse, eventually becoming a registered midwife.

She finds similarities between her  childhood home and Macclesfield which she reflects in her poetry.

She said: “I visited Styal Mill and I couldn’t help noticing the similarities with the cane fields where I grew up.

“In the mill the workers were used and wasted in the interest of a product, just like in the sugar plantations.

“Lives in industries were lost as if they never mattered and my performance is centred around those connections.”