Lord Mayor of London

This article is about the mayor of the City of London. For the directly elected mayor of Greater London, see Mayor of London.
Lord Mayor of London
Arms of the City of London
Incumbent
Alastair King
since 8 November 2024
StyleMy Lord Mayor
The Right Honourable
ResidenceMansion House, EC4
AppointerElectors: Aldermen
Term lengthOne year
Inaugural holderSir Henry FitzAlan
Formation1189
SalaryNone (pro bono)
WebsiteOfficial website

The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London, England, and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign[1] and retains various traditional powers, rights, and privileges, including the title and style The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London.

One of the world's oldest continuously elected civic offices, it is entirely separate from the directly elected Mayor of London, a political office controlling a budget which covers the much larger area of Greater London.

The Corporation of London changed its name to the City of London Corporation in 2006, and accordingly the title Lord Mayor of the City of London was introduced, so as to avoid confusion with that of Mayor of London. The legal and commonly used title remains Lord Mayor of London. The Lord Mayor is elected at Common Hall each year on Michaelmas, and takes office on the Friday before the second Saturday in November, at The Silent Ceremony. The Lord Mayor's Show is held on the day after taking office; the Lord Mayor, preceded by a procession, travels to the Royal Courts of Justice at the Strand to swear allegiance to the sovereign before the Justices of the High Court.

The Lord Mayor's main role nowadays is to represent, support and promote the businesses and residents in the City of London. Today these businesses are mostly in the financial sector, and the Lord Mayor is regarded as the champion of the entire UK-based financial sector regardless of ownership or location throughout the country. As leader of the Corporation of the City of London, the Lord Mayor serves as the key spokesman for the local authority and also has important ceremonial and social responsibilities. The Lord Mayor is non-affiliated politically, typically delivering many hundreds of speeches and addresses per year and attending many receptions and other events in London and beyond. Incumbents usually make overseas visits under the auspices of the FCDO.[2] The Lord Mayor, ex officio Rector of City, University of London and also Admiral of the Port of London, is assisted in day-to-day administration by the Mansion House 'Esquires' whose titles include the City Marshal, Sword Bearer and Common Crier.

Alastair King serves as the 696th Lord Mayor (for 2024–2025). The Lord Mayor is also assisted by The Venerable Ray Pentland CB QHC as Lord Mayor's Chaplain. The Lord Mayor’s office is also served by Aide de Camp representing the Uniformed Youth Organisations and they will be pleased to assist in the arranging of new affiliations. The Lord Mayor has six individual Cadet ADCs representing the various Uniformed Youth Organisation branches who provide him with a connection to the City Cadet Forces.[3] [4]

  1. ^ Allan C. Fisher Jr. (June 1961). ""The City" - London's Storied Square Mile". National Geographic. 119 (6): 735–778.
  2. ^ Morrison, Caitlin (18 February 2016). "The Lord Mayor is taking too many overseas trips, according to a new City of London Corporation report by Sir Simon Fraser". CityAM.
  3. ^ ""Bishop joins birthday celebrations for St Mary's Church, Harrow on the Hill"". 12 January 2017.; Pullman, Nigel (17 April 2020). "Guildhall last night confirmed that William Russell will now remain in office [as LM] until November 2021, subject to being formally re-elected later this year". liverycompanies.info. Retrieved 17 April 2020 – via Twitter.; "Calendar Event". 29 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Uniform Youth Organisations".