BLACKPOOL'S "father of the council", Coun Ivan Taylor, has been nominated as the town's new mayor.

Coun Taylor, who has been a council member for 34 years, was unanimously voted as mayor-elect at a full council meeting last week.

As a senior member of the council -- he was council leader from 1991 to 2000 -- Coun Taylor had been eligible to be mayor for years but said he felt unable to take up the position because of commitments as council leader.

He said he was now ready to take up the post in May. "I'm looking forward to the year and I hope that I will be able to make a contribution to the town.

"I'm the 'father of the council', the longest serving member and I could have been mayor years ago but I was leader of the council and Labour group. I feel I'm able to do it now. It's been a long time coming. It's a great privilege," he said.

Coun Taylor, who represents Claremont ward, stepped down as Council Leader in 2000, the same year his daughter Lisa was charged with and later jailed for £30,000 benefit fraud.

But he said that the public had been pleased to hear of his impending mayoral role: "They have been very supportive, particularly in my own ward. I've had a lot of phone calls and congratulations."

He said his wife, Coun Sylvia Taylor, who also represents Claremont ward, was very pleased for him. She is to be mayoress.

Coun Peter Callow, leader of the town's Tory group, said that the unanimous vote was a vote for the office of mayor.

"We didn't want to break with 100 years of tradition. The selection of mayor has never been political and we don't want to break with that. We voted for the office rather than the individual. It's a matter for the Labour group to decide if it's an appropriate time for Coun Taylor to be mayor.

"He certainly has the right to be mayor because of his level of seniority. Whether it's a good decision is a matter for himself."