How does the Council decide who should be Mayor?
The Mayor is a serving councillor elected to the office for one year by fellow council members at the Annual General Meeting of the Council in May each year.
What is the difference between the Mayor and the Leader of the Council?
The Leader of the Council appoints the 9 members of the Cabinet, this is the group of councillors who are responsible for taking many of the decisions about how the Council’s services are delivered. The Leader is also chair of the Cabinet.
The Mayor of the Council must be an elected member of the Council, and holds office for one year until the next mayor is elected. The election of Mayor takes place as the first item of business at the Annual Meeting.
The Mayor is the civic representative of the Council and has no formal power on decision making except to chair the Council meeting where they must:
- uphold and promote the purposes of the Constitution, and interpret the Constitution where necessary
- preside over meetings of the Council so that business can be carried out efficiently and with regard to the rights of councillors and the interests of the community
- hold the casting vote in the event of a situation arising at a council meeting where political parties cannot reach a majority decision
The Mayor is also the Returning Officer for the Parliamentary elections and has the right to announce the result.
In practice, these functions are undertaken by the Chief Executive as Acting Returning Officer, but the Mayor can reserve the duty to receive the writ for the election and to read out the results.
What is the difference between the Mayor of Camden and the Mayor of London?
The Leader of the Council is the Leader of the political administration in Camden and is also chair of the Council's Executive. The Leader of the Council is usually the Leader of the majority party of the council. The Leader is elected by Full Council for a period of four years.
The Mayor of London sets the annual budget for the Greater London Authority; the Metropolitan Police; Transport for London; London’s main roads; regulates London’s licensed taxi service (and will also run the tube when it is handed over by central Government); London Development Agency and the London Fire Brigade.
The Mayor of Camden is the First Citizen of the borough, which is a ceremonial symbolic role with little or no formal power. The Mayor is seen as the public face of the Council. The role of Mayor is subject to a range of protocols and customs, which apply to the role, for example while in office they must serve all constituents regardless of their political support.
The Mayor of London is elected for a fixed term of four years. The Mayor of Camden is elected for a term of one year.