Disbanding Worthing's mayoralty 'would be a great mistake'

Worthing Borough Council’s Labour administration has committed to ‘bringing the council into the 21st century’, its leader has said. But some have called on them to keep traditions as they are.

One of Labour’s manifesto promises is to survey locals on ‘council traditions’, including whether the town should have a mayor.

But former mayor Lionel Harman said disbanding the mayoralty would be a ‘great mistake’.

“The mayoralty’s office costs very little to run but the returns to the borough’s economy are enormous,” he said on Friday (20 May).

The Conservative Castle ward councillor said he was reluctant to end his time as mayor, adding that it had been ‘a privilege’ to launch some of the town’s Jubilee celebrations.

He said some of the highlights included giving a tour to the High Sheriff and his wife; opening numerous new shops; taking part in tree planting; and unveiling three new blue plaques, including one to honour Ellen Chapman, Worthing’s first female mayor.

He also supported three charities: Worthing Sea Cadets, Worthing Mencap, and the Worthing Society.

Mr Harman said his mayoralty was ‘unlike any that have gone before’ due to the pandemic and he ended up in the role for two years instead of one.

Worthing has had a mayor since 1890, when the borough council’s first meeting was held, and Alfred Cortis was the first to hold the title.

The Mayor attends important events and acts as a ‘civic head’.

New council leader Beccy Cooper explained that her administration did not necessarily want to end the Mayoral tradition, but wanted to review it after speaking to residents.

“We don’t have a commitment to getting rid of traditions, we’ve got a commitment to listening to what people want,” she said on Monday (23 May).

“Some people really engage with some traditions and other people will engage less.

“We just want to go out and ask the residents which traditions they really value.

“There’s always going to be difference of opinion but we want to be guided by what people want.”

The administration is planning a ‘Big Listening Campaign’ this summer to get residents’ views.

“Just because there’s always been traditions doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t ask questions about them,” Dr Cooper said.

“We’ve also got a constitution that’s currently 600 pages long. Actually, we can vastly update our constitution and take it out of the 19th Century and make a council that is much more open.

“The mayoralty is part of that but it doesn’t mean we have to get rid of the mayoralty or change it if the communities don’t want it.”

Jim Deen (Lab, Central) added that the mayoralty is just one of the traditions Labour wants to review.

“We’re linking it with other issues on the way we function and questioning traditions like meeting in the council chamber,” he said, “We’re talking about going out and meeting more in the community and engaging the community more.”