AFTER 23 years as a borough councillor, and nearly 20 as a county councillor, Basingstoke’s ‘Old Ma Popley’ is stepping down from her roles at the upcoming elections. The town’s first female, Labour mayor, Cllr Jane Frankum was first elected in 1998, beating Michael Berwick-Gooding (Lib Dem) to the Popley West seat by just 26 votes. The following year, her son Paul also stood in the same ward and was elected. “Popley was a very different place when we first became councillors,” recalled Jane. “It had a really bad reputation, and we didn’t think it really deserved it.” After speaking with some other local residents throughout the 1990s, Jane and her family reestablished the community magazine, Popley Matters.