Agenda item

To elect a Mayor for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

The outgoing Mayor will address the Council for up to 5 minutes.

The outgoing Mayor will then call for nominations for the Office of Mayor for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

The outgoing Mayor will ask the Council to vote on the nomination(s).

At this point in the proceedings, the outgoing Mayor and the incoming Mayor may adjourn in order to place the Cloak and Chain of Office on the incoming Mayor. 

The incoming Mayor will take the chair and make the Declaration of Acceptance of Office as required by Section 83(3) of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Mayor to address the Council for up to 5 minutes.

The Mayor to present the Past Mayor’s Badge to the outgoing Mayor. 

Keith Baker, the current Mayor, welcomed recently elected Members. Councillor Baker thanked all those who had invited him to their events over his time in Office.  He highlighted some of the events that he had attended and praised his chosen charity, Chance to Dance.

A number of Members thanked Keith Baker for his hard work during his year in Office and the fair approach that he had taken.

Keith Baker thanked Caroline Kelly, the Mayor’s Assistant and Sophia Burr, Communications for their support over the year.  He thanked his Deputy Mayor Abdul Loyes for his considerable support.  Keith Baker went on to thank Anne Hunter, Democratic and Electoral Services Lead Specialist, for her hard work and support over his term of office.

At this point in the meeting Keith Baker resigned as Mayor with immediate effect.  He indicated that his Group would be nominating him for Mayor, and he felt it inappropriate to preside over the nomination proceedings.  The Deputy Mayor assumed the chairing of the meeting.

The Deputy Mayor called for nominations for the office of Mayor for the 2021/23 Municipal Year.

It was proposed by Clive Jones and seconded by Stephen Conway that Caroline Smith be elected as Mayor for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

It was proposed by Pauline Jorgensen and seconded by Stuart Munro that Keith Baker be elected as Mayor for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

Voting was as follows

RESOLVED: That Caroline Smith be elected as Mayor for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

Caroline Smith made the statutory acceptance of office pursuant to Section 83 of the Local Government Act 1972.

Caroline Smith addressed the Council as follows:

I would like to thank you for electing me to be your Mayor and as the First Citizen to be representing the Council and the citizens of Wokingham Borough for the coming year is both very humbling and an awesome task that I will discharge to the very best of my ability.  It is a huge honour so thank you for your confidence.

I would like to begin with another thank you to our outgoing Mayor.  Keith Baker has done a brilliant job during his year in Office, and I do not just mean chairing these meetings with just the right amount of discipline and fairness.  He has also done a great job in representing this Council at many, many functions.  I intend to follow carefully in his footsteps, especially continuing in his strict working principles during full Council meetings.  This means ensuring keeping to strict timings for all Councillors, and importantly keeping everyone to the point.  This a new start for us and because everything is so finely balanced, I will be looking to work more collaboratively.  We must ensure that the great work by our Officers is appreciated, and truly recognise that our residents come first.

As you probably know, as an Earley Town Councillor, I chair the Climate Emergency Working Group and am acutely aware that this Council’s Climate Emergency targets of 2030 are fast approaching.  As such in my role of Mayor, when opportunity arises, I will be encouraging residents to make positive changes. 

On a different note, since 2020 we have had to deal with Covid.  I have worked for 20 years in the voluntary sector and know first hand that we have amazing residents in Wokingham, with many stepping forwards to volunteer, keeping the vulnerable safe and fed.  Covid has not gone away, so as Mayor I will be promoting the voluntary effort going forward.  Whilst we are regarded as affluent in the Borough there are many residents who will be worried about inflation, the rising cost of living and the horrendous situation in the Ukraine, and we will need support from many sectors of the community.  One of my most integral parts of being a Mayor is choosing a charity to support.  With that in mind my obvious choice of charity is the Wokingham Food Bank.  I will be counting on you for all this generous support for this very worthy local cause.