Abi Brown was first elected to Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 2010 and has been Leader of the Council since May 2019, holding the Corporate Resources, Strategy and Partnerships portfolio. Prior to this she was Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Partnerships from May 2015.
Alongside her portfolio responsibilities, Abi also leads several strategically important programmes, both within Stoke-on-Trent and also the wider sub-region. This includes the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone Project Board, and a project she has led since inception, as well as being Chairman of Fortior, the city council’s arms-length housing company. Formed in 2016, Fortior has a portfolio of almost 400 homes and is stimulating and leading the market in improving the availability of private-sector housing.
In July 2021, she joined the Midlands Engine board, representing West Midlands Councils. This is in addition to representing Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire on the West Midlands Employers Board, and being a local authority representative on the Arts Council England Midlands Council. Since 2018, Abi has been a vice-chairman of the LGA City Regions Board, acting as Conservative lead member, having first joined the board in 2017.
In 2021, Abi took on responsibility for Community Safety and Homelessness, including chairing the Homelessness Reduction Board, and Community Safety Partnership. In addition, Abi also now chairs the Health and Wellbeing Board, which she sees as providing the opportunity to bring together her experience and local success in regeneration and place-making, with services that focus more on improving residents’ everyday lives.