Agenda item - Election of the Mayor of Brighton and Hove for the Municipal Year 2019/20

The Mayor will seek nominations for the new Mayor for the Municipal Year 2019/20.

5.1         The Mayor invited nominations for the position of Mayor of Brighton & Hove for the municipal year 2019/20.

5.2         Councillor Alex Phillips was proposed by Councillor Phelim Mac Cafferty and seconded by Councillor West.

5.3         Councillors Platts and Bell supported the nomination of Councillor Phillips as Mayor for 2019/20.

5.4         The Mayor declared that, there being no other nominations, Councillor Alex Phillips had been duly elected Mayor of Brighton & Hove for the forthcoming municipal year. 

5.5         The motion was agreed.

5.6         The Mayor then adjourned the meeting at 5.00pm in order for Councillor Phillips as the incoming Mayor to be robed and to take the Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Phillips in the Chair

5.7         Councillor Phillips reconvened the meeting at 5.10pm and then made and signed her Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

5.8         The Mayor then thanked the Council for her appointment and gave the following speech;

“Deputy Lieutenant, High Sheriff, Councillors, Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests. This is such a privilege - to be chosen to take on this highest civic office and represent the people of Brighton and Hove.

When I arrived in this fabulous city 11 years ago, I little imagined that I’d have the unique honour of being given this title in the tradition of so many important and illustrious people – not least my predecessor, Councillor Dee Simson – and to wear this mayoral chain and robe – both of which have been handed down since 1855.

The robe in particular means a great deal to me, because it was presented in that year by – and I quote – ‘some ladies of Brighton’. And amongst the charities I hope to help this year are those that support women. Indeed, I hope to use the next 12 months to celebrate the achievements, great and small, of not only the women of this area, but of children and young people as well.

There are many people I need to thank; and first, the council for appointing me, with special thanks to Phelim Mac Cafferty and Pete West for your kind words today.

Then of course, my family: my nan, who sadly passed away last year, would I know, have been immensely proud; my mother, Maggie, has been an absolute rock these past months and there is no way I could have coped without her unfailing help.  And I’m so happy Tom has agreed to be my consort during this Mayoral year.  But above all, my 19-month-old son, Rafi who has been so good – never screamed, never shouted, never demanded my attention, slept through every night, almost changed his own nappies – if only!

Thanks also to all my other family members and friends who are here to support me - not least Munmun and Bikash, our next-door neighbours, when I was growing up in Liverpool.

There are three other people who have been so brilliantly supportive: Carol Bullock, who went above and beyond to help bring success in Regency Ward; Cath Miller and, of course, Caroline Lucas, who were directly responsible for bringing me to this wonderful, quirky, vibrant

City, and pushing me along the political path.

So, what do I want to do in this coming year, and what charities do I want to support? I’ve already mentioned women – and there are many such charities I’ll be trying to help; and as regards young people, I want them to be involved and understand what we do here in the council to improve the lives of the people we represent. So, at the beginning of each council meeting, I’ve asked a different secondary school to put forward a young person to come here and read a poem to us that means something to them, or has a message for us from them. I hope it’ll remind us that the decisions we make will ultimately affect those young people more than anyone else in Brighton and Hove.

Beyond the charities, I want to do everything I can to promote this great city. Not only great, but a fun city, which I want everyone to enjoy; it’s truly a unique place to be, whether you’re living here, working or just visiting. I want people to come and see what all the exciting things on offer, so they come back over and over again and tell their friends to visit as well. I want to support the economic development of the city by welcoming conferences and delegations and showing them what an amazing place it is to do business with.

Brighton & Hove has a long and well-established history of being a city that is open to visitors and investors alike. I want to develop that as much as possible. As a city we’re looking to grow new ties overseas and attract investment into the city, while helping our businesses here to export to new markets. I’ll therefore be working during my time as Mayor to promote the city where I can; building on the fact the role of Mayor is internationally recognisable. And, I hope, contributing to the work the council is already doing to strengthen Brighton and Hove’s economy.

Brighton and Hove’s motto translated from Latin to English is “Between Downs and Sea We Flourish”.  We have an amazing resource in the seafront; indeed, it was on the seafront – on the bandstand - that I got

married to Tom.  If you go anywhere in the world and mention you're from Brighton, they immediately say '"oh yes by the sea" with a Pier. But they also talk about the beauty of the Downs – the softness of the landscape – the marvellous walks – the Devil’s Dyke. And between the two, they know all about the Royal Pavilion, the Brighton Fringe, the Lanes.  We’ve got it all here and I want to spread the word even further.

As for my Charities – well, I’ve got 20 in all, a number which may seem slightly absurd.  But I wanted, as I mentioned, to focus on women, children and young people.  And I’ve come across so many charities working in those fields that I decided to try and help them all.  I’ve learnt so much from Dee – and one thing she did in particular, I want to continue.  That’s to concentrate less on the money and more on the need.  So, as she did, at all the events, the raffles, the bucket collections, we’ll be explaining exactly what it is we’re raising the money for – whether that be a nicely decorated room in a women’s hostel, or toys for disadvantaged youngsters, or whatever.

I do hope as many of you as possible will get your friends and relatives to come along to as many of these events as you can, so we can buy what’s needed for these charities. But if you’re not one of those charities, I shall still be working for you. I want to support as many other charities, clubs & associations in the City as possible, so please tell any organisations you’re involved with to invite me to attend events to help raise their profile and increase their fundraising.

And, as far as possible, when I make visits, I intend to travel across the city by bus, bike or walking: I want it to be a year of active travel, where I can engage directly with as many people as possible. At some events, it may be appropriate to bring Rafi along with me – and I think that can be very important: to get the message across to girls and young women that you can hold positions such as this as a woman, as well as raising a family.

Just before I close, can I invite you all to join me at Brighton Museum for drinks and canapés. It’s a great place for children and young people to broaden their minds and learn. The wonderful daytime community Wham Jam choir will be there to entertain us – and by the way, they’re on the lookout for new members and there are no auditions – so even my father could join them; or maybe not!

I want to end by congratulating Councillor Alan Robins, assuming we all agree shortly, whom I know will make an excellent Deputy Mayor and I’m looking forward to working with him.  I also want to offer my thanks again to Councillor Dee Simpson who has selflessly allowed me to attend many events during her Mayoral year so I have some idea about what lies ahead.  It really will be hard to fill her shoes – she has been such an excellent mayor – but I’ll do my best.

I’m really looking forward to starting my mayoral engagements; three events I’ll be attending shortly, are:

·           ‘Hove Carnival’ – a great free fun day with a host of events, including belly dancing, which I won’t be doing(!) - all to raise funds for Martlets which cares for people living with a terminal illness in Brighton and Hove;

·           ‘Faith in Action’, which supports faith groups that deliver social welfare and community building projects in this city;

·           and ‘A Better World: a celebration of Sussex’, which will be showcasing how this county is helping to shape the world around us.

Very different visits in a very special city to get my year underway.

Please do enjoy the rest of the day with family, friends and colleagues.

Thank you all once again.

I'm very happy that my partner Councillor Tom Druitt has agreed to be my Consort during my Mayoral year, so I'd like to thank him again and ask him to come forward to be presented with the badge of office.”