The full Council elects the Chairman of the Council in May each
year. They are, in general, a member of the majority party. They
provide a civic and ceremonial leadership of the Council by
attending civic or ceremonial functions on behalf of the Council.
They chair and manage the
meetings of the full Council and ensure that
the Council's Constitution is upheld.
Once elected, the Chairman rises
above party politics in chairing meetings of the Council and
acting as the Council's representative at about 200 formal and
less formal public engagements a year. The Chairman of the
Council wears a chain of office when carrying out most duties,
but unlike a Mayor does not have any formal robes.
The new Chairman
is Councillor Jim Bidwell.
Vice-Chairman of the Council
The full Council also elects the
Vice-Chairman of the Council in May each year and, again, they
are, in general, a member of the majority party. They
take on a full deputising role in the absence of the Chairman
of the Council as well as sharing and supporting the
workload.
The new Vice-Chairman is
Stephen
Burroughes.