ROTHERHITHE'S JEFF HOOK THE NEW MAYOR

1 June 2009

John Prendergast
johnp@southwarknews.org

The new mayor of Southwark will be Cllr Jeff Hook for the 2009/10 year, after he was voted in at the full council assembly last week.

The Rotherhithe representative beat off competition from Cllr Althea Smith, the Labour member for Nunhead, after the opposition benches put her forward as their candidate.

Cllr Hook is thought to be one of the first openly gay mayors, and announced his partner would be his official consort for the year.Speaking at the full assembly he announced that Civic Pride would be his theme for his mayoral year, and Help for Heroes would be his nominated charity.

The charity, which was set up in 2007, and is distinct from the recent Sun newspaper campaign, supports wounded soldiers through a variety of projects throughout the country.

The first citizen of the borough is largely a ceremonial role, and is seen as a neutral political figure, whose primary function is to chair the full council assembly in an impartial manner.

Outside of the chamber, the mayor plays a significant civic role representing the borough in other bodies, and supporting community events throughout the year.

Cllr Robin Crookshank-Hilton, the Conservative member for the Village ward, was selected as deputy mayor for the year.

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