Mayors and Lord Mayors
London, is one of twenty three cities in England to have a Lord Mayor but, to my knowledge is the only city to be ‘blessed’ with two mayors; the City of London has a Lord Mayor – a role created in 1189 and elected each year by the Aldermen of the City, while the role of Mayor of London was introduced in the year 2000.
Lord Mayor
By far the most famous of the Lord Mayors of London is Dick Whittington who was Lord Mayor on four separate occasions between 1398 and 1420, hence the rhyme in the famous pantomime of Dick Whittington and his Cat:
Turn again, Whittington,
Once Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Twice Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Thrice Mayor of London!
The cat, incidentally was not of the feline variety, but rather a small sailing vessel, as Whittington was a prosperous trader before entering politics. But we Brits never let the facts interfere with a good pantomime.
The Lord Mayor is elected each November, and his (or her – there have been over seven hundred Lord Mayors, and thus far only one woman has served – Dame Mary Donaldson, elected in 1983) election is followed by the ‘Lord Mayor’s Show’ which is a ceremonial parade through the City of London. The great Livery Companies are represented along with various privileged military regiments. On occasions in 18th and 19th centuries the parade took place on barges on the River Thames, giving rise to the term ‘float’ beaing used for canival vehicles.
Mayor of London
In contrast the Mayor of London is head of the London Assembly and is elected by the population of Greater London.
The first Mayor of London was Ken Livingstone (Socialist) a former leader of the Greater London Council and long time thorn in the side of both Labour and Conservative governments.
Ken Livingstone was elected in both 2000 and 2004, but unexpectedly beaten in 2008 by the eccentric Conservative Boris Johnson.
