Lydia Emelda Simmons OBE is a Labour Party local politician in Slough, Berkshire, England who was active between 1979 and 2007.
She has the distinction of being the first black person, as well as specifically the first Afro-Caribbean woman, to become a mayor in England.
At the 2007 Slough Council election, Simmons was the Labour candidate in Central Ward.
She was unexpectedly defeated by the Conservative candidate, Eshaq Khan, in circumstances which led to an election petition being presented challenging the result.
"The only reasons they came to light at all were the incompetence of the fraudsters and the blatant nature of the frauds."