No One Wants To Be Next Year’s Deputy Mayor

Published on: 1 Dec, 2018
Updated on: 30 Nov, 2018

The current deputy mayor, Cllr Richard Billington.

No nominations have been received for the post of Guildford’s Deputy Mayor next year. Sources at Guildford Borough Council (GBC) say the situation is “unusual”.

A new deputy mayor, who has to be a serving councillor, is to be appointed in May next year, when the present deputy, Cllr Richard Billington (Con, Tillingbourne), is expected to be made mayor.

A report to be considered at GBC’s next full meeting, on Tuesday, December 4, states: “Group leaders were asked to submit nominations for the Deputy Mayoralty for 2019-20 by no later than 23 November 2018. No nominations were received. Any nominations that are received will be reported at the meeting. If there are no nominations to consider at the council meeting, the matter will be referred to the next meeting of the council on 26 February 2019.”

The report adds: “The council is asked to consider this matter to enable early preparations to be made for the formal election of the Mayor and appointment of Deputy Mayor for 2019-20 at the council’s annual meeting on 8 May 2019. This gives them time to make the necessary adjustments to their personal and professional lives in order to prepare for their forthcoming mayoral/deputy mayoral years and will provide plenty of time to enable appropriate training or refresher training to be given to the respective nominees.”

Nominations may be constrained by the coincidence of borough council elections in May. Those who feel less confident about their re-election prospects might be reluctant to put their name forward but The Guildford Dragon understands that if a mayor or deputy mayor were to lose their seat a new mayor and/or deputy would have to be elected at the next full council meeting.