This is a list of the lord mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England.[ 1] [ 2] Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester mayor .
The current and 126th lord mayor is Paul Andrews, Labour , who has served Since May 2024, and was elected councillor for the Moston ward.
The lord mayor position, is selected by a vote of councillors, and is a ceremonial role, with the holder attending civic events, promoting chosen causes and chairing meetings of Manchester City Council , while acting as a city Ambassador. The lord mayor’s term lasts for one year, and a new lord mayor Is elected in a full council meeting, usually in May.
History
Manchester was incorporated in 1838 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 as the Corporation of Manchester or Manchester Corporation. It achieved city status in 1853, only the second such grant since the Reformation . The area included in the city has been increased many times, in 1885 (Bradford, Harpurhey and Rusholme), 1890 (Blackley, Crumpsall, part of Droylsden, Kirkmanshulme, Moston, Newton Heath, Openshaw, and West Gorton), 1903 (Heaton), 1904 (Burnage, Chorlton cum Hardy, Didsbury, and Moss Side), 1909 (Gorton, and Levenshulme), 1931 (Wythenshawe: Baguley, Northenden, and Northen Etchells), and Ringway. A new town hall was opened in 1877 (by Alderman Abel Heywood ) and the then-current and future mayors of Manchester were granted the title of Lord Mayor in 1893.[ 3] Anthony Marshall was the last mayor and the first lord mayor.
In 1984, the city council – at that time controlled by the Labour party – voted to reduce the pomp and rate-payer cost associated with the position, changing the title to Chair of the Manchester City Council (often shortened), following the lead of some Greater London boroughs. This change dispensed with the elaborate robes and chain of office (a gilded ornament worn on the shoulders and around the neck), and no longer provided the traditional tax-funded, eight-room apartment for the officeholder to live in (instead opening this fancy traditional residence to the public as a tourist attraction). These changes were unpopular in the area, especially after focused agitation against them by the Manchester Evening News , which labelled them a political move originated by non-local leftist activists. The title Lord Mayor continued to be used frequently, especially outside the city council. The first of the three successive chairs of council was Kenneth Strath in the 1985–1986 term, and the last was Eileen Kelly, 1987–1988, Later officeholders were referred to again as lord mayors consistently, and permitted to use the traditional vestments associated with the office.[ 4] Today, vestments have returned and the title Lord Mayor is used.
Mayors of Manchester
1838–1893
No.
Mayor
Tenure began
Tenure ended
Terms
Notes
1
Sir Thomas Potter
1838
1840
2
Father of Sir John Potter, who was mayor 1848–1851
2
William Neild
1840
1842
2
3
James Kershaw
1842
1843
1
4
Alexander Kay
1843
1845
2
5
William Benjamin Watkins
1845
1846
1
6
Sir Elkanah Armitage
1846
1848
2
7
Sir John Potter
1848
1851
3
Son of Sir Thomas Potter, who was mayor 1838–1840
8
Robert Barnes
1851
1853
2
9
Benjamin Nicholls
1853
1855
2
10
Sir James Watts
1855
1857
2
11
Ivie Mackie
1857
1860
3
12
Matthew Curtis
1860
1861
1
1st term
13
Thomas Goadsby
1861
1862
1
14
Abel Heywood
1862
1863
1
1st term
15
John Marsland Bennett
1863
1865
2
16
William Bowker
1865
1866
1
17
Robert Neill
1866
1868
2
18
John Grave
1868
1871
3
19
William Booth
1871
1873
2
20
Alfred Watkin
1873
1874
1
21
John King
1874
1875
1
22
Matthew Curtis
1875
1876
1
2nd term
23
Abel Heywood
1876
1877
1
2nd term
24
Charles Sydney Grundy
1877
1879
2
25
Henry Patteson
1879
1880
1
26
Sir Thomas Baker
1880
1882
2
27
John Hopkinson
1882
1883
1
28
Philip Goldschmidt
1883
1884
1
1st term
29
Sir John James Harwood
1884
1885
1
1st term
30
Philip Goldschmidt
1885
1886
1
2nd term
31
Matthew Curtis
1886
1887
1
3rd term
32
Sir John James Harwood
1887
1888
2
2nd term
33
William Batty
1888
1889
1
34
Sir John Mark
1889
1891
2
First mayor of the County Borough
35
Sir Bosdin Thomas Leech
1891
1892
1
36
Anthony Marshall
1892
1893
2
First term
Lord mayors of Manchester
19th century
No.
Lord mayor
Tenure began
Tenure ended
Term(s)
Notes
1
Sir Anthony Marshall
1893
1894
2
Second term; knighted at the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal on 21 May 1894
2
Abraham Evans Lloyd
1894
1896
2
3
John Foulkes Roberts
1896
1897
1
4
Robert Gibson
1897
1898
1
5
Sir William Henry Vaudrey
1898
1899
1
6
Thomas Briggs
1899
1901
2
20th century
No.
Lord Mayor
Tenure Begin
Tenure End
Terms
Notes
7
Sir James Hoy
1901
1902
1
8
John Royle
1902
1903
1
Liberal party[ 5]
9
Sir Thomas Thornhill Shann
1903
1905
2
10
James Herbert Thewlis
1905
1906
1
11
John Harrop
1906
1907
1
12
Sir Edward Holt
1907
1909
2
13
Sir Charles Behrens
1909
1911
2
14
Sir Samuel Walter Royse
1911
1913
2
15
Sir Daniel McCabe
1913
1915
2
16
Arthur George Copeland
1915
1916
1
17
Sir Thomas Smethhurst
1916
1917
1
18
Sir Alexander Porter
1917
1918
1
19
John Makeague
1918
1919
1
20
Sir William Kay
1919
1919
1
1st term
21
Tom Fox
1919
1920
1
22
Sir William Kay
1920
1921
1
2nd term
23
Ernest Emil Darwin Simon
1921
1922
1
Knighted in 1932, created Baron Simon of Wythenshawe in 1947[ 6]
24
Sir William Cundiff
1922
1923
1
25
William Turner Jackson
1923
1924
1
26
Sir Frederick Joseph West
1924
1925
1
27
Sir Miles Ewart Mitchell
1925
1926
1
28
James Henry Swales
1926
1927
1
29
Sir William Davy
1927
1928
1
30
Lt-Col George Westcott
1928
1929
1
31
Sir Robert Noton Barclay
1929
1930
1
32
George Frank Titt
1930
1931
1
33
Ellis Green
1931
1932
1
34
Sir William Walker
1932
1933
1
35
Joseph Binns
1933
1934
1
36
Samuel Woollam
1934
1935
1
37
Thomas Stone Williams
1935
1936
1
38
Joseph Toole
1936
1937
1
39
Joseph Crookes Grimes
1937
1938
1
40
Sir William Kay
1938
1938
1
3rd term
41
Elijah John Hart
1938
1939
1
42
George Harold White
1939
1940
1
43
Robert Griffith Edwards
1940
1941
1
44
Wright Robinson
1941
1942
1
45
John Septimus Hill
1942
1943
1
46
Leonard Bramwell Cox
1943
1944
1
47
William Philip Jackson
1944
1945
1
48
Hugh Lee
1945
1946
1
Father of Hugh Lee, who was Lord Mayor 1981–1982
49
Thomas Henry Adams
1946
1947
1
50
Dame Mary Latchford Kingsmill Jones
1947
1949
2
First woman to hold the office
51
Robert Moss,
1949
1950
1
52
Colonel Samuel Percy Dawson
1950
1951
1
53
William Collingson
1951
1952
1
54
Douglas Gosling
1952
1953
1
55
Abraham Moss
1953
1954
1
56
Sir Richard Harper
1954
1955
1
57
Tom Regan
1955
1956
1
58
Harry Sharp
1956
1957
1
59
Sir Leslie Lever MP
1957
1958
1
Created Baron Lever in 1975.
60
James Edward Fitzsimons
1958
1959
1
61
Harold Quinney
1959
1960
1
62
Arthur Donovan
1960
1961
1
63
Sir Lionel Biggs
1961
1962
1
64
Sir Robert Thomas
1962
1963
1
65
Robert Carr Rogers
1963
1964
1
66
Dr William Chadwick
1964
1965
1
67
Bernard Sydney Langton
1965
1966
1
68
Nellie Beer
1966
1967
1
Conservative.
69
Dame Elizabeth Yarwood
1967
1968
1
70
Harold Stockdale
1968
1969
1
71
Neil Gowanloch Westbrook
1969
1970
1
72
William Atkinson Downward
1970
1971
1
73
Douglas John Edwards
1971
1972
1
74
Edward Grant
1972
1973
1
75
Kenneth Collis
1973
1974
1
Opened T1 Manchester Airport and also given an OBE in 1992
76
Frederick Balcombe
1974
1975
1
First lord mayor of the Metropolitan Borough
77
Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw
1975
1976
1
78
Kenneth Franklin
1976
1977
1
79
Robert Crawford
1977
1978
1
80
Trevor Thomas
1978
1979
1
81
G.W.G. Fitzsimons
1979
1980
1
82
Winnie Smith
1980
1981
1
83
Hugh Lee
1981
1982
1
Son of Hugh Lee, (who was Lord Mayor 1945–1946)
84
Clifford Tomlinson
1982
1983
1
85
Dr M. J. Taylor
1983
1984
1
Son of Joe Taylor, founder and first chairman of the Greater Manchester Council
86
Harold Tucker
1984
1985
1
The last Conservative to date to serve as Lord Mayor of Manchester.
87
Kenneth Strath
1985
1986
1
First chair of the council[ 4]
88
Kathleen Robinson
1986
1987
1
89
Eileen Kelly
1987
1988
1
Last chair of the council[ 4]
90
Patricia Conquest
1988
1989
1
91
Yomi Mambu
1989
1990
1
92
John Gilmore
1990
1991
1
93
George Chadwick
1991
1992
1
94
Bill Egerton
1992
1993
1
95
William T Risby
1993
1994
1
96
Sheila Smith
1994
1995
1
97
Joyce Keller
1995
1996
1
98
Derek Shaw
1996
1997
1
99
Gerry Carroll
1997
1998
1
100
Gordon Conquest
1998
1999
1
101
Tony Burns
1999
2000
1
21st century
No.
Lord mayor
Tenure began
Tenure ended
Notes
Refs
102
Hugh Barrett
2000
2001
103
John Smith
2001
2002
104
Roy Walters
2002
2003
105
Audrey Jones
2003
2004
106
Tom O'Callaghan
2004
2005
107
Mohammed Afzal Khan
2005
17 May 2006
[ 7]
108
James Ashley
17 May 2006
12 August 2006
Liberal Democrat, Died in office.
[ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
109
David Sandiford
11 October 2006
16 May 2007
[ 10] [ 11]
110
Glynn Evans
16 May 2007
14 May 2008
[ 11] [ 12]
111
Mavis Smitheman
14 May 2008
13 May 2009
[ 12] [ 13] [ 14]
112
Alison Firth
13 May 2009
19 May 2010
[ 15]
113
Mark Hackett
19 May 2010
18 May 2011
114
Harry Lyons
18 May 2011
19 May 2012
115
Elaine Boyes
19 May 2012
19 May 2013
116
Naeem ul Hassan
19 May 2013
17 May 2014
117
Susan Cooley
17 May 2014
18 May 2015
[ 16]
118
Paul Murphy
17 May 2015
17 May 2016
[ 17]
119
Carl Austin-Behan
13 May 2016
17 May 2017
[ 18]
120
Eddy Newman
17 May 2017
16 May 2018
121
June Hitchen
16 May 2018
15 May 2019
122
Abid Latif Chohan
15 May 2019
27 October 2020
123
Tommy Judge
27 October 2020
18 May 2022
124
Donna Ludford
18 May 2022
17 May 2023
[ 19]
125
Yasmine Dar
17 May 2023
15 May 2024
First Asian woman to hold the mayoralty
[ 20]
126
Paul Andrews
15 May 2024
incumbent
[ 21]
See also
References
^ "The Lord Mayor's Office: Former Mayors of Manchester (1838–1892)" . Manchester City Council . p. 5. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2007 .
^ "The Lord Mayor's Office: Former Lord Mayors of Manchester (1892–present)" . Manchester City Council. p. 4. Retrieved 3 December 2007 .
^ Frangopulo, N. J. (ed.) (1962) Rich Inheritance . Manchester Education Committee; pp. 59–72
^ a b c Fry, Kath (2016) [2011]. "Abolishing the Lord Mayor". In Fry, Kath; Cropper, Karen; Platt, Steve; Dale, Tony (eds.). Manchester's 1984 Revolution . The full form of the alternative title is chair of the Manchester City Council , sometimes shortened to chair of the council or chair of council .
^ "Election of Mayors". The Times . No. 36922. London. 11 November 1902. p. 12.
^ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page: Severn to Sligo [usurped] (including Simon of Wythenshawe); accessed 14 December 2007.
^ a b "Minutes of a meeting of the Council held on 17 May 2006" (PDF) . Manchester City Council . 17 May 2006. Retrieved 28 November 2009 .
^ "Lord Mayor of Manchester has passed away" . Manchester City Council. 13 August 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2007 .
^ Rooth, Ben (14 August 2006). "Lord Mayor of Manchester dies" . Manchester Evening News . M.E.N. Media.
^ "Minutes of a meeting of the Council held on 11 October 2006" (PDF) . Manchester City Council. 11 October 2006. Retrieved 28 November 2009 .
^ a b "Minutes of a meeting of the Council held on 16 May 2007" (PDF) . Manchester City Council. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2009 .
^ a b "Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 14 May 2008" (PDF) . Manchester City Council. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2009 .
^ Keegan, Mike (16 May 2008). "All go for purple-hair Mayor" . Manchester Evening News . M.E.N. Media. Retrieved 28 November 2009 .
^ "Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 13th May 2009" (PDF) . Manchester City Council. 13 May 2009. p. 1. Retrieved 28 November 2009 .
^ "New Lord Mayor unites nations" . Manchester City Council. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2009 .
^ "Manchester's Lord Mayor" . Manchester City Council. Retrieved 13 October 2014 .
^ Fitzgerald, Todd (20 May 2015). "Manchester's new Lord Mayor and his newly-elected daughter who helped to complete Labour's clean sweep" . Manchester Evening News . Retrieved 6 March 2016 .
^ Williams, Jennifer (16 May 2016). "Manchester to swear in its first ever openly gay Lord Mayor" . Manchestereveningnews.co.uk . Retrieved 3 October 2017 .
^ "Manchester welcomes new Lord Mayor" . Manchester City Council . 18 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022 .
^ "Manchester's first Asian woman to be Lord Mayor proud of role" . BBC News . 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023 .
^ "Manchester welcomes 'proud Mancunian' Paul Andrews as city's new Lord Mayor" . 16 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024 .
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