Role of the Mayor

First Citizen

Every year a serving Councillor is elected by the Members and appointed as the Mayor of Reigate and Banstead.

The Mayor is the First Citizen of the Borough and, as such, is:

• a symbol of the authority;
• a symbol of open society;
• an expression of social cohesion;
• entirely apolitical for their term of office.

This means that, while the Mayor is not The King's Representative in the borough, only His Majesty The King, members of the Royal Family and His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey (The King's Representative in the area) take precedence over the Mayor at events in the borough.

The Mayor's correct title is 'The Worshipful the Mayor of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead'.

The Mayor's term of office is one year and the Mayor changes in mid-May at the Annual meeting of Council.

Functions

The Mayor attends many different types of functions throughout the Borough of Reigate and Banstead, such as formal dinners, official openings of events or new facilities, talking to clubs and societies and visiting schools.

The Mayor also hosts visits to the Mayor's Parlour in the Town Hall from various organisations and is always happy to receive a request for a visit.

The Mayor asks the Deputy Mayor to stand in if the Mayor is not available.

The Mayor is responsible, in a non-political way, for furthering the interests of the borough whenever and wherever an appropriate occasion arises.

The Mayor acts as host to distinguished visitors to the borough, including royalty, national representatives of various organisations and foreign visitors, especially those from our twin towns.

The meaning of 'Mayor'

The word 'Mayor' derives from the latin word 'Magnus' meaning 'great'. The office of Mayor, together with the Domesday book and the feudal system, were brought to this country by the Normans. Such an office had existed on the continent since at least the fifth century.

First Mayor

The first English Mayor was the Mayor of London, appointed in 1189 by Richard I. The first Mayor of Reigate was Thomas Dann, December 1863 to November 1864. He was a Quaker and local lime and coal merchant and was a prime mover to join Reigate with Redhill into a unified scheme of local government. The Borough of Reigate was formed with Redhill from the old Manor of Reigate. The 49th Mayor, Ernest Crowe became the 53rd and the first Mayor of the new Reigate and Banstead Council in 1974.