Ian

00:00:14.67 - 00:00:42.669 

 Marvellous You join us live as we are truly now into the autumn season of the Pompey politics Podcast The evening is starting to draw in Now you'll note my cat has come here We are both huddled together for warmth as all of the uh temperature has gone out of Portsmouth It appears today and we are joined by to give the full title the right worshipful Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Councillor Tom Coles Welcome Tom Oh

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:00:43.049 - 00:00:44.65 

 hi guys How are you doing tonight

Ian

00:00:44.93 - 00:00:46.06 

 Really good

Simon

00:00:46.069 - 00:00:47.599 

 Thank you Thank you for joining us

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:00:48.18 - 00:00:49.15 

 Thanks for having me on

Ian

00:00:50.209 - 00:01:00.4 

 And And Simon I think uh I think uh the right worshipful mayor of Portsmouth Councillor Tom Coles has been very gracious with us We don't have to use his full title for every question

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:01:01.74 - 00:01:04.449 

 You guys you guys could call me Tom It's fine

Simon

00:01:04.94 - 00:01:31.68 

 Thank you That's that's um that's very That's very kind of you It certainly makes it easier Um one of us was bound to trip up eventually Um So um yeah we just just as a um AAA bit of an introduction Looking at your biography that's on the on the council's website You've certainly um you certainly had a varied career That's kind of brought you um that's brought you from this point from a point of um pulling pubs to fixing polo pitches

Simon

00:01:31.87 - 00:01:38.19 

 to um to being a an um an assistant uh medic on a on submarines

Simon

00:01:38.699 - 00:01:46.519 

 Um all the way to working in the NHS to A to a council in in in the city and then to our lord mayor So it's

Simon

00:01:47.05 - 00:01:56.51 

 um a pleasure to welcome you Thank you so much for giving us part of your evening Um and um Well we've We've got some lovely questions for our esteemed Lord mayor So

Simon

00:01:57.239 - 00:01:58.93 

 welcome Tom Shall we crack on

Ian

00:01:59.3 - 00:02:04.23 

 We'll crack on So So Tom what What is the role of the Lord mayor

Ian

00:02:05.11 - 00:02:07.069 

 And and what is it What is it that you

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:02:07.08 - 00:02:08.25 

 do

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:02:09.149 - 00:02:11.649 

 So uh the Lord mayor it's uh

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:02:12.72 - 00:02:24.38 

 role Um it's technically it's the first citizen of Portsmouth Uh and also as a Lord mayor it's the representative of the king So it's one above a mayor

Simon

00:02:27.309 - 00:02:53.119 

 OK cos there are all sorts of different types of mayors aren't there around in in different cities Um the the Lord mayor that most people hear about is obviously the one in London Um but different cities have different arrangements of Lord mayors And what they what they can do Um I don't know if you can still hear us Tom Uh you've frozen it Tom had to join us from his from his eye from his phone because he um his council laptop um wasn't playing playing ball Hopefully you're still there

Ian

00:02:53.13 - 00:02:55.97 

 Tom It would appear not This is uh

Ian

00:02:56.309 - 00:02:58.429 

 technical challenge We hope not to have

Ian

00:02:58.979 - 00:03:07.85 

 Um So we shall uh wait in anticipation of Tom returning to us And um

Ian

00:03:08.6 - 00:03:13.369 

 yeah we may have to busk for a little bit whilst whilst Tom

Ian

00:03:13.979 - 00:03:15.74 

 turns up So um

Ian

00:03:16.419 - 00:03:33.22 

 yeah just while we're waiting there one of the things in the political world which I have to say I thought it It's not often I think comedy and the Labour Party go hand in hand But I had a lot of respect for them last monday You know there was the protest against Sir Keir Starmer where

Ian

00:03:33.58 - 00:03:38.089 

 protester came and threw a handful of glitter on him And by Monday morning Sorry

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:03:41.16 - 00:03:42.69 

 about that It's just as soon as we started

Ian

00:03:43.66 - 00:04:00.0 

 No No worries at all I was just I was just filling time respecting the uh the humour of the Labour Party When uh Sir Keir Starmer got covered with glitter last weekend that by monday morning um Portsmouth labour were advertised

Ian

00:04:00.229 - 00:04:07.66 

 advertising the glitter with here t-shirts that you could purchase from the from the labour shop So um

Simon

00:04:08.82 - 00:04:09.559 

 enterprising

Ian

00:04:13.58 - 00:04:16.739 

 Yeah absolutely And and a segue We'll move on to the

Ian

00:04:16.75 - 00:04:30.98 

 enterprise later in the podcast Um so yeah you were just telling us Tom that the role of the Lord mayor and what it is you actually do I think we have got the the sort of ceremonial role But it was kind of how your role might be different potentially to other mayors

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:04:31.32 - 00:04:33.269 

 So uh there's a

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:04:34.309 - 00:04:41.47 

 elected directly elected mayors and mayors who are first citizens uh who are elected from the ranks of the local councils

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:04:42.109 - 00:04:46.529 

 Um and lord mayors are one above those So they have letters patent from the

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:04:47.39 - 00:05:15.679 

 monarch who who grants the uh title of lord Mayor to the First Citizen And that makes that person the representative of the king So there's 23 Lord mayors I believe um we've had a Lord mayor since 1928 but we had lots of mayors before that Back to 15 31 So we have a long history Um but yeah it's it's an ambassadorial role Really It's representing representing the people of Portsmouth uh through one person Excellent

Simon

00:05:17.119 - 00:05:26.429 

 OK so I guess the the next the next and obvious question is then OK so how does how do How does someone get to be one What What How does that work

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:05:27.57 - 00:05:43.88 

 Uh so uh it's obviously you You have to be one of the City Council members Um and then you put yourself forward We have a a private session after the February full council meeting where um members are proposed and seconded for Deputy Lord mayor and Lord Mayor

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:05:44.589 - 00:05:51.32 

 So um usually the deputy Lord mayor becomes the Lord mayor in the lead year That's usually the protocol

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:05:51.98 - 00:05:52.779 

 A a

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:05:53.339 - 00:05:56.39 

 There There's a secret ballot if there's more than one candidate as well

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:05:57.059 - 00:06:04.94 

 But uh I uh I came into it because when I was first elected in 2018 my eldest daughter thought I was being made the Lord mayor at mayor making

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:06:05.51 - 00:06:16.66 

 So I told her if I was re-elected I put myself forward So So I did So the person who was supposed to be deputy lord mayor last year had lost their seat in the elections So So I put myself forward

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:06:17.17 - 00:06:21.72 

 and it wasn't till the morning of the mayor making that uh I was told I was uncontested

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:06:22.26 - 00:06:27.609 

 and we had to process in Um Nicky was actually in the audience I had to go and find her

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:06:28.149 - 00:06:33.07 

 and take her out so she could process in with the rest of us It was all a bit very very last

Simon

00:06:33.079 - 00:06:36.179 

 minute Quite quite um quite an exciting drama then

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:06:36.679 - 00:06:36.779 

 Yeah

Simon

00:06:37.459 - 00:06:53.2 

 yeah And and And do they do they do they kind of cycle from kind of So the mayor making is is every year when the full council comes back basically after the local elections or and and and then the fourth year so ba so everyone kind of serves a year Do they

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:06:54.5 - 00:07:02.5 

 Uh yeah it's It's a one year term Yeah Yeah you can uh you can do more than one The last time we had a double one was 2000 2001

Simon

00:07:02.739 - 00:07:14.609 

 Oh OK Ok so and And do the parties kind of take turns in Does it Do they kind of share it around in a in A in a bit Or is it just It's not done in party colours cos the the role isn't political in any way is it

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:07:15.239 - 00:07:34.619 

 No it's uh you have to be neutral for a year So um it usually goes between the parties but I'm the first labour one for 20 years I believe Um but uh we we take the neutrality to the me cos usually you get a ribbon with the uh party colour but we're wearing a black one to stay neutral So Oh OK

Simon

00:07:35.39 - 00:07:38.269 

 Is that quite easy then to to suddenly kind of switch off the

Simon

00:07:39.119 - 00:07:39.75 

 to switch

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:07:40.6 - 00:07:43.839 

 It's not too I'm quite good at Compartmentalising So I

Simon

00:07:44.07 - 00:07:57.869 

 That's good We we we ask a bit a bit about the differences Um later on So no thank you for that because I I you know it's not something that I think everybody kind of understands how it works and uh and and and what kind of happen So thank you very much

Ian

00:07:58.709 - 00:08:01.899 

 and I'm loving the imagery you'll portray there Tom the old uh

Ian

00:08:02.13 - 00:08:15.16 

 nipping out into the audience saying Come on Nicky Grab grab your bag Um I I'm I'm taking you somewhere nice It's that you know So um hopefully she wasn't too Uh um too shocked at the call

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:08:15.17 - 00:08:21.549 

 It was It was really last minute I got I got packed off to have for their making They're making the very next day So I was

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:08:22.799 - 00:08:24.029 

 It's all a bit of a rush

Ian

00:08:24.29 - 00:08:48.26 

 so that that's a great lead into our next question So uh again what What What does A and I'm gonna put normal in air quotes Um Tom you know what What does a week for for the Lord mayor look like Because we've spoken on the podcast before About you know that need for for our councillors to balance you know work council duties Um

Ian

00:08:48.69 - 00:09:02.729 

 and it it it seems from an outsider looking in that the the Lord mayor is um there There's there's a fair fair kind of amount of pull on your time So uh so what does a typical week for Lord Mayor Tom Coles look like Well I don't

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:09:02.739 - 00:09:14.88 

 think I don't think we have what you call a a typical week but uh it's uh it's it's it's hard work but it's enjoyable Uh we both we both have jobs me and Nicky So

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:09:15.59 - 00:09:30.94 

 I work as a healthcare support worker on the stroke board at Q A Um but I've reduced my hours to two days a week Uh while I'm doing this they've been really flexible with me at work and really good Um Nicky works Nicky works at a nursery in north End with um Children with special educational needs

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:09:31.65 - 00:09:34.109 

 Um she's reduced her hours as well

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:09:34.77 - 00:09:44.51 

 but we could We could be doing anything in a week So just just uh this week we've had visitors to the Lord May Parlour Coffee Morning which is a monthly thing for our charity

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:09:45.219 - 00:09:49.38 

 We've been to Mental Health Festival We started the Great South run earlier That was a lot of fun

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:09:50.059 - 00:09:55.77 

 and uh somewhere in all that we have to look after our three daughters as well So it's uh it's pretty nonstop

Ian

00:09:55.78 - 00:10:05.419 

 Wow I mean let's let's be honest That's the There's somebody I mean III I admire the skill in in starting the great South run Obviously

Ian

00:10:05.429 - 00:10:25.229 

 any of an excuse not to partake in it which is that that's good planning but um yeah No And and again that's that That is good applied skills there I think Tom but um but um no it sounds like you You you you've got AAA full on a full on week and then some there So um yeah

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:10:25.39 - 00:10:30.429 

 we do We get days here and there but then I'll be catching up on housework and

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:10:31.28 - 00:10:35.539 

 admin and bits and pieces So it's it's pretty nonstop

Simon

00:10:36.299 - 00:10:42.659 

 Yeah it's quite the quite the challenge to To to fit it IN a all IN no doubt but um but uh well worth it So

Simon

00:10:43.479 - 00:10:55.44 

 So next week we kind of had a a little bit of a chat about this before we went live So next week we're gonna be reporting on Tuesday's full council uh meeting Um it's fair to say it's an occasionally combative and drawn out event

Simon

00:10:56.549 - 00:11:01.27 

 What What does the Lord mayor Actually what function does the Lord mayor actually do What's what's the role

Simon

00:11:02.059 - 00:11:04.52 

 in in that sense Because you're um

Simon

00:11:05.039 - 00:11:14.08 

 you're kind of sat in front of all of the all of those counsellors And And how does that and how does that appear Sorry How does that compare to to your experience as as a as a counsellor

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:11:14.95 - 00:11:25.229 

 It's It's definitely a different experience for all council but it's it's it's enjoyable one though Um it's less intensive I think less less intense than attending as a counsellor

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:11:25.78 - 00:11:28.219 

 Uh because I've sort of removed from the

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:11:28.919 - 00:11:33.76 

 political to and fro and a remaining neutral and nonpartisan So

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:11:34.82 - 00:11:41.7 

 I I get to sort of take a step back and and run the meeting rather than be involved in the meeting If that makes sense yeah

Simon

00:11:41.76 - 00:11:55.719 

 quite often you're it kind of looks like and it's interesting looking at the different styles that the different Lord mayors have have had over over over time but it it I I don't know Sometimes it kind of looks like you're you're essentially being a playground monitor

Simon

00:11:56.299 - 00:11:58.82 

 and someone with a watch

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:12:00.0 - 00:12:08.96 

 Oh I definitely can get a bit like that I'm happy to give a bit of leeway here and there and have a have a little bit of a laugh But I will I will be firm but fair when needed Um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:12:09.53 - 00:12:16.059 

 uh the the The hardest thing is if there's something that I would normally as a councillor comment on and I have to bite my tongue

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:12:16.739 - 00:12:20.65 

 to remain neutral that can be a bit difficult sometimes Uh um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:12:21.4 - 00:12:35.409 

 I think the main advantage is I get to I get to manage how it's how how it goes and I get to call when the breaks are So if I think both myself and the counsellors could do with taking time out and coming back to it I can I can call that That's in my

Simon

00:12:35.419 - 00:12:42.19 

 gift So So if they're starting to get a bit ratty because cos they haven't been to the loo or they haven't had a cup of coffee or whatever then

Simon

00:12:42.619 - 00:12:57.489 

 yeah you can you can call time out Basically so do do you um so do you get to decide what's good Because the the I mean the agenda This um next week is is quite a hefty one do you get Do you get to decide what goes on the agenda How's that How does that

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:12:57.5 - 00:13:03.65 

 work No not really That's that's mainly the mainly the Cabinet and then any groups that have put in

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:13:04.21 - 00:13:05.739 

 motions and questions

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:13:06.64 - 00:13:08.369 

 but uh no I don't I don't get to decide it

Simon

00:13:08.38 - 00:13:21.27 

 Unfortunately OK so and And I guess I mean you've you've kind of mentioned it there a bit if you if someone is is kind of waffling on uh a little bit is how How easy is that to to kind of bring them

Simon

00:13:22.13 - 00:13:31.099 

 bring them in Because trying to get poli No disrespect Trying to get politicians to stop talking is sometimes difficult How do you find

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:13:31.109 - 00:13:46.08 

 that But as I say if if the if the second buzzer goes and the six minutes are up I'll I'll generally I'll let them finish their sentence But if they if they do it repeatedly or or take the Mickey a bit um I will crack down on them And II I have turned microphones off

Simon

00:13:46.09 - 00:13:51.25 

 so Oh OK Oh OK that's the You withdraw the mic from them Basically

Simon

00:13:51.89 - 00:13:55.859 

 we should remember that for the hustings Ian I

Ian

00:13:55.869 - 00:14:18.94 

 think we it is something we might need to adopt So just in terms of you you You said there was that sort of acceleration from from right Oh Crumbs it is me I better get on with this How much how much training do you get in your sort of mayoral duties and you know have have you got it Is there a kind of support team behind the mayoral role who

Ian

00:14:19.099 - 00:14:26.33 

 Who takes a fresh faced and enthusiastic Tom Coles into the office and says Right let me talk you through what you need to do here

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:14:26.34 - 00:14:35.03 

 The the the team in the in the law May's office are really good and that I think that's why it's good to have the year as deputy first because it's almost like an apprenticeship

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:14:35.64 - 00:14:42.479 

 It's a big step up from that to Lord Mayor but it's it's a good good to have that year to get to know the people in the office And they can

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:14:43.2 - 00:15:02.58 

 um give you pointers on things that are coming up uh things we need to organise ourselves Like the charity we run all of that The office Don't don't do anything with that And the um social media which we we have to manage ourselves There's just little bits and pieces about protocol and things Uh but they're they're so helpful The ladies in the office uh uh

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:15:03.419 - 00:15:08.469 

 training up the the deputy lord mayor for a year ahead as as as Lord Mayor And

Ian

00:15:08.479 - 00:15:26.169 

 I guess that's like almost like a perpetual situation for them Is that and II I And again I wonder how they feel that uh they just managed to train up a a lord mayor into the position they'd want them to be And then they get a fresh face newbie turning up the to start all over again You have to start from scratch

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:15:27.659 - 00:15:30.109 

 Well I'm I'm happy to stay on if they need me to

Ian

00:15:31.21 - 00:15:51.799 

 So you mentioned you mentioned the the charity there and and uh uh you know an awful lot of the work of the Lord mayor is about um you know doing charitable work and raising money for charities So how are those charities chosen And and for the ones that that you've chosen Can you tell us a bit about them and why they're important to you

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:15:52.09 - 00:15:59.09 

 Yeah that was that was probably the most difficult task leading up to becoming Lord mayor is uh choosing the charities I think we always wanted three

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:15:59.69 - 00:16:26.94 

 Um and we wanted them to be uh within our main areas of interest So we went with We went with um Homestar Portsmouth because they they support families Um especially young families including ours When when our Children were younger Uh and Nicky's been a volunteer for Homestar before as well Um it enables them to find training and support And they they do a lot of work with uh neurodivergent Children and families which which is

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:16:27.15 - 00:16:56.479 

 within our remit because with me with a DH D um we went with uh the Portsmouth Hospitals Charity obviously I I work at the hospital So I see the the great work they do supporting patients and visitors and staff and uh the R and R MC So the Royal Navy Royal Marine Charity Um I'm a I'm a Royal Navy veteran My dad's a Royal Navy veteran Uh they do a lot of work with different groups and organisations supporting our our veterans from the senior service So uh it's

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:16:56.78 - 00:17:02.84 

 they were they were they they actually contacted me and I went to meet them and that was our That was our last one to go in Brilliant

Ian

00:17:02.869 - 00:17:08.91 

 So tho those the those charities are entirely the the gift of the the Lord and and lady Mayor

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:17:09.18 - 00:17:11.8 

 Yeah Yeah we We pick our pick our charities

Ian

00:17:12.53 - 00:17:28.01 

 Brilliant And uh as you explained at the start you you yourself and Nicky both kind of work across a quite a diverse range of um of and they sound like they they are the charities that are kind of very close to your heart And what involvement do they have

Ian

00:17:28.16 - 00:17:41.17 

 you know with you Is it Is it then a case of you help to organise events with them Or I Is it a case of you You kind of attend their events to try and raise the profile So how how does it actually work in terms of the raising of the money So there

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:17:41.18 - 00:17:50.839 

 there is the the committee Uh we put together a committee of um friends people we knew for the for the charity and they they've helped us organise a lot Um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:17:51.41 - 00:18:03.63 

 but we we get the the charities involved as much as possible and we'll go to things they've organised They'll come to things we've organised There's a really close working relationship between between us the committee and all the three charities that's been there

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:18:04.349 - 00:18:14.28 

 It's been a really good really good experience I really really enjoying fundraising doing fun stuff to uh the stuff that the Lord mayors wouldn't normally do to to help raise money for the

Ian

00:18:14.29 - 00:18:29.359 

 charities Oh now you've You've You've opened a door there Tom that I've gotta I've gotta push that a little bit So can you give us an example of uh of perhaps where you've been a should we say a little less conventional as a as a lord mayor to to help raise some money

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:18:29.949 - 00:18:42.579 

 Uh I used uh I used the banqueting room The Lord most banqueting room at the guild hall in August to have a birthday party for myself And uh we had people buy tickets and come along to that for charity That was we raised Raised quite a bit of money as well It was It was a lot of fun

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:18:43.219 - 00:18:51.02 

 And we've got some other things in the pipeline that uh I don't think have been done before but I can't say too much at the moment Unfortunately that's

Ian

00:18:51.18 - 00:18:55.76 

 that's easy for us to to to to look at

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:18:56.4 - 00:18:58.079 

 Al always leave one and more Oh

Ian

00:18:58.099 - 00:19:03.619 

 absolutely No no no I know I I think that is a fantastic idea to I'm organising a

Ian

00:19:03.63 - 00:19:18.709 

 day party for me And frankly if you want to come you've got to buy a ticket And at that pace when people browse Sparrow to do the and you'll be making a donation to charities that's a fan Fantastic way to make that happen Tom sounds It's really

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:19:18.739 - 00:19:29.03 

 good 11 thing I have been doing is because obviously we have a lot of um Raffles and I think we're probably going to be doing auction at some point I've I've got really shameless at going into shops and emailing

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:19:29.68 - 00:19:37.979 

 companies asking for donations and we've got We've got some pretty cool stuff that will be coming up in uh in some of our drawers I've got a signed football from Portsmouth I've got

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:19:38.569 - 00:19:52.709 

 a baseball cap from Williams Formula One team that's signed by the drivers um and got a big stack of records from sub pop records that they've given me So there's lots of stuff coming in That's we're go We're hopefully gonna get some money raised for the Terry

Simon

00:19:53.26 - 00:19:54.069 

 Brilliant

Simon

00:19:54.79 - 00:20:14.31 

 Fantastic Um well good to good To see a bit of flair and a and A and a bit of difference And that's the That's the interesting thing Kind of year to year You see You see that difference Just a bit of a fresh look from uh from one lord mayor to the next So it's um it's um it's good to see a good to see that that bit of um bit of invention there Um

Simon

00:20:14.959 - 00:20:35.489 

 oh I'm just making sure that I've pressed the right button to get the next question So um so as part of those ceremonies and uh and the the events that you do we we quite often see um see the Lord mayor or the lady mayoress with the robe Uh and the chains Uh and the mace is kind of a a key part of the of the of the council chamber Um

Simon

00:20:36.069 - 00:20:40.079 

 what can you tell us uh about the significance and hi and history of these items

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:20:40.189 - 00:20:49.819 

 So the uh there's actually 22 robes that the Lord Mayor wears There's the the the black one with the gold trim which is a real gold apparently

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:20:50.41 - 00:20:52.89 

 So tell me um that's the most formal

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:20:53.449 - 00:21:02.469 

 uh the most formal uh robe that I would wear There's also a red one with a fur trim which I which Uh I like wearing for citizenship ceremonies uh down at the

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:21:03.239 - 00:21:04.709 

 down at the registry office

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:21:05.26 - 00:21:07.119 

 Um when it comes to the chains

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:21:07.699 - 00:21:08.68 

 they uh

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:21:09.349 - 00:21:22.199 

 they uh uh my one dates back to Oh my one The Lord mayor's chain dates back to 18 18 37 Um and it has all the names of the the mayors And then later lord mayors engraved on it

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:21:22.88 - 00:21:30.489 

 uh where they went out of room they just had more links on the back I'm on there already which is quite rare It's usually at the end of the year they do it but there were a few behind so they caught up

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:21:31.13 - 00:21:34.03 

 Uh the Lady Mar chain is 18 57

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:21:34.77 - 00:21:49.569 

 Um and that's we only realised a little while ago That's also got names engraved on it I'm gonna try and get Nicky on there Uh but when it comes to the great mace um that dates back to the Commonwealth All the old maces were me melted down when they uh

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:21:50.119 - 00:22:02.939 

 dissolve the monarchy Uh so this it's a commonwealth mace But after the restoration they squeezed Charles the second cipher in It does look a little squashed on there but that's a as I say it's a symbol of my authority in the city

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:22:03.619 - 00:22:22.26 

 So that would they bring that in Obviously for full council meetings and uh coming up for remembrance that'll it'll be under be out there with me there as well She's about the chains Nicky actually gets Well the lady Mar gets a dress chain for going to like a black tie event I think she gets this bejewelled necklace with stars and presents on it

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:22:22.859 - 00:22:24.599 

 And I'm I'm more than a little jealous of

Simon

00:22:26.27 - 00:22:30.859 

 that Um yeah they they both sound wonderful So So if they keep just adding a chain

Simon

00:22:31.39 - 00:22:42.52 

 is there gonna be a point If they're adding a chain for each one is there gonna be a point where it's actually so cos I imagine that's gonna that I I mean how I mean sorry How much do do they are They quite hefty are the is

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:22:42.53 - 00:22:47.069 

 The chain is quite heavy They're double sided the ones on the back as well

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:22:47.719 - 00:23:03.395 

 And um the ones I was I was looking at it earlier The the the bits on the shoulder and the big bits that go here There's loads of names on the back of those so but yeah they just keep adding more I think it's it's well balanced though The deputy chain the weights all at the front So I spent the whole year with backache but this one

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:23:03.405 - 00:23:05.025 

 that's really well balanced

Simon

00:23:05.045 - 00:23:19.089 

 OK so um so at least at least that's a bit better It would be um I guess a bit a bit rubbish to find out that the prospective new Lord mayor can't do half their duties because they've got a back problem because of because of the um Deputy Lord Mayor

Simon

00:23:19.41 - 00:23:20.41 

 Uh may I

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:23:20.699 - 00:23:26.41 

 do I do need to weigh it though People keep asking me I do need to weigh it I'll do that this week Come

Simon

00:23:26.479 - 00:23:27.78 

 up in our research But

Ian

00:23:29.609 - 00:23:35.239 

 is there a Is there a protocol Tom which is and again does this come out of the Lord Mayor's office which is the

Ian

00:23:35.52 - 00:23:56.06 

 you know when it's appropriate when when you need to wear X or Y or I is it again a little bit down to yourself that is You know if you fancy popping down to the corner shop you know Are you uh is it uh Is it considered um considered fair play just to don the chain Cos you fancy it

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:23:56.199 - 00:24:06.27 

 Well it it it doesn't live with me It lives at the Guild hall So um so it'd have to be We have the events forms um and then it has what we what they want us to wear on there and

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:24:06.78 - 00:24:23.65 

 usually it will say dress Uh dress will be uh day wear and chain So the the driver for that day will come around put our chains on take us to the place bring us back take the chains off us and take the chain back to the safe So my uh my home insurers can rest easy but it's not staying at all

Simon

00:24:23.699 - 00:24:28.939 

 So you can just imagine it kind of propped up on the coffee table in your in your front room It's um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:24:29.55 - 00:24:30.13 

 um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:24:30.579 - 00:24:37.589 

 although although they they did they did let me go all the way to Japan on my own with it which is very strange because they won't let me walk around Portsmouth on my own So you could go

Simon

00:24:37.599 - 00:24:39.52 

 to the other side of the planet with it I can go to the other

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:24:39.719 - 00:24:40.349 

 side of the planet with

Simon

00:24:40.579 - 00:24:45.459 

 Yeah And how was that with with airport security Cos surely that I mean it I

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:24:45.479 - 00:24:56.819 

 don't I have uh lots of customs paperwork and a nice letter saying prescribing it all and explaining who I am and what it is The the the only one I really had trouble with was going out at Heathrow Um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:24:57.56 - 00:25:05.709 

 it was really like What is this It's on the letter Where are you going That's on the letter It slowed me down Definitely

Simon

00:25:05.75 - 00:25:10.64 

 Well I guess they don't wanna They wanna make sure you're not trying to smuggle gold out of the country Um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:25:10.76 - 00:25:19.699 

 and then if we if we're going to another authority as well uh say uh we went to mayor of fair and for a for a meal with uh some of the jang gang

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:25:20.3 - 00:25:26.05 

 the We just wear a badge So the the main bit of the chain at the front comes off and we just wear that with a ribbon

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:25:26.989 - 00:25:28.739 

 Um and we have to ask permission for that

Simon

00:25:28.979 - 00:25:32.089 

 to to um to

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:25:32.099 - 00:25:41.209 

 to to the to the authority we're going to We have to ask for permission to wear the badge Right OK And And if they come to us they have to ask us for as well So it's just uh

Simon

00:25:42.699 - 00:25:47.859 

 oh is that like a hierarchical thing There can only be one lord mayor in one city at any one time Is that the I

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:25:48.42 - 00:25:49.739 

 think so Yeah OK

Simon

00:25:50.849 - 00:25:52.53 

 so not quite like Highlander but

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:25:54.5 - 00:26:02.199 

 well I've got a really big sword in the in the parlour that they don't want me waving around So I think I'd win that one if it was Highlander

Simon

00:26:03.459 - 00:26:07.93 

 OK well sorry I can just see the TV show coming now

Ian

00:26:08.449 - 00:26:16.439 

 Yeah you mentioned going to Japan there I I guess that was some kind of official visit I mean how how did that go in terms of

Ian

00:26:16.76 - 00:26:22.43 

 you know the the the history and the protocol And uh and I guess that that must have been quite an experience

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:26:22.68 - 00:26:45.27 

 It was It was an amazing experience I was only um a week and a half two weeks into my term as Lord Mayor it it was to mark the 25th anniversary of our sister city agreement with my zuru Uh which is Nicky Oto But um I was It was It was definitely a bit daunting It was the furthest I've been before That was Florida and I went all that way to Japan on my own

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:26:45.89 - 00:26:48.719 

 I've never even been to an airport on my own before So

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:26:49.26 - 00:26:58.199 

 and I had to go with this big chunk of gold to Helsinki change planes and then go to to Osaka But yeah I It was a really really nice experience

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:26:58.719 - 00:27:20.329 

 They had everything planned to the minute and they stuck to that on the itinerary But uh it it's it's it's an amazing country Uh amazing people Um and there's a lot of cultural differences but I I had a good briefing from team at the council about for instance like business cards You have to present them like this with two hands and make sure you look at theirs properly

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:27:20.739 - 00:27:24.569 

 Don't put it in a pocket You're gonna sit on lots to think about

Ian

00:27:24.859 - 00:27:43.4 

 No it is a It is a fascinating country I was lucky to visit there with work And as you say the pro the protocol is um is is is is quite challenging And and again I I had to go through that in terms of uh taking the business card studying it carefully Um and it was only after about the third or fourth time I thought

Ian

00:27:43.719 - 00:27:57.66 

 Well surely somebody realises I can't actually see what's on the card but I I went through it anyway So uh no it sounds like um that sounds like uh uh quite a baptism of fire until your your your your first kind of big event

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:27:57.92 - 00:28:04.589 

 Yeah Definitely Um And then I came back on the Tuesday and then I think it was the Friday or the Saturday I went off to Carter D Day So

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:28:05.619 - 00:28:07.869 

 it was continent hopping

Ian

00:28:09.459 - 00:28:09.599 

 the

Simon

00:28:09.609 - 00:28:10.699 

 well win tour then

Simon

00:28:12.13 - 00:28:27.459 

 So quite the whirlwind tour Then you're literally you know coming coming backwards and forwards And then um but I guess there's there's never a dull moment then is there There's quite a by the sound of it There's quite a variety to the to to what's happening on any in any given week

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:28:28.329 - 00:28:39.579 

 Yeah definitely We have at least once a week maybe every fortnight we have a meeting with with Joe in our office who will go through things that are coming up Things that are already in the diary Other things that have come in

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:28:40.369 - 00:28:49.119 

 But uh yeah they're really good really good at going through that with us and say explaining the things that we have to go and do and things we might like to do

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:28:49.709 - 00:28:58.76 

 Um we can always send the deputy if something comes up or if I'm unavailable And as I say My my ward managers at work are really good at being flexible if something does come up but

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:28:59.38 - 00:29:07.5 

 switching around my shifts or I'm ending my hours so I can get to something in the evening or or SW swap in a day with a with another colleague But it

Simon

00:29:07.51 - 00:29:27.01 

 it it it doesn't sound perhaps quite the gra the glamorous life that that maybe some people think it is But it's certainly very interesting and and really really worthwhile to to have that opportunity to to be able to touch um you know to help those charities and to and to touch some of these people's lives in that way and and represent you know the CI the city In that way it's um

Simon

00:29:27.42 - 00:29:31.229 

 yeah how what sort of feeling does that Does that give you It's a

Simon

00:29:31.93 - 00:29:33.719 

 I co I couldn't even put words to it

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:29:33.81 - 00:29:47.079 

 It's a It's a real privilege It's it's it's we're proud to to be the representative of the city I mean we live in a terraced house in front which people people always think that the Lord mayor is going to live in a big house in the country

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:29:47.589 - 00:29:56.829 

 Um but we're just we're just normal people who just got an opportunity to to then go and do lots of stuff we wouldn't normally do like even

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:29:57.53 - 00:30:08.349 

 um having a meal out We've We've got three young kids We we never go out It's uh it's been really It's been really really good We were having a lot of fun with it

Ian

00:30:09.209 - 00:30:27.25 

 and talking about fun Tom I think it's perhaps uh it's not indelicate to suggest that you are perhaps one of the youngest lord mayors we've seen in in recent years and are absolutely certain the F first to make any pronouncements in Klingon

Ian

00:30:27.469 - 00:30:30.8 

 Um and am I right that um right

Ian

00:30:31.93 - 00:30:41.0 

 rather than um come into the uh the uh some traditional doll piece of classical music I am I correct that you selected a track by Metallica

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:30:41.28 - 00:30:47.52 

 I did It was uh eye of beholder which is uh the third track off their 1988 album and Justice for all

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:30:48.25 - 00:30:52.15 

 But uh yeah I'm a big big heavy metal fan Um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:30:52.719 - 00:30:54.619 

 I didn't think I'd get away with rage against the machine

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:30:55.26 - 00:30:57.92 

 So I went with Metallica I love Metallica

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:30:58.699 - 00:31:07.609 

 and I knew it was always going to be a selling off that album It's just finding the finding the right one and that's got like like a build up It's almost like wrestling music I mean

Ian

00:31:07.92 - 00:31:20.699 

 there's been a given a choice Tom II I think I would have preferred Unforgiven but um you know there's a good build to that Perhaps some of the lyrics might not have uh might not have fitted with it

Ian

00:31:20.9 - 00:31:21.729 

 So kind of

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:31:21.949 - 00:31:35.13 

 the the the story went all around the world It was all over the place um went M minorly viral But the comments underneath and some of them people saying that's the if you listen to the words this is either really good or really scary

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:31:35.689 - 00:31:40.64 

 is a song It's a song about uh corruption and corruption and stuff like that

Ian

00:31:40.9 - 00:32:02.27 

 Yeah I did again knowing a little bit about the work of Metallica myself I did raise half an eyebrow and thought Oh it's a bold suggestion So I guess what's going you know again Uh I I'm sure when you kind of I mean was the Klingon a last minute decision or did people know that was coming I what scope have you got to be playful

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:32:02.76 - 00:32:05.42 

 Oh well the Klingon I I My My

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:32:05.579 - 00:32:28.02 

 inauguration speech was actually littered with uh lots of cultural references I definitely definitely wanted to get some some Star Trek in there So I I When I was writing it I dropped in Uh uh There's a couple of cling uh a couple of Shakespeare bits before that And then I got on to uh General Chang in Star Trek six He says Tuck bar Tuck bear So it is to be or not to Not to be So I was like I'm gonna drop that in

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:32:28.51 - 00:32:33.38 

 and I did I did make sure the office were OK with me doing that but they had to They had

Simon

00:32:33.39 - 00:32:36.05 

 It's not the same unless you've read Shakespeare in the original

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:32:36.989 - 00:32:58.099 

 but the office because because we have a S uh a British sign language interpreter at the Mer making So I had to tell them what it meant so they could do some sort of signing for it But um we do We do have some leeway to to to push boundaries where need be Um for instance our our official portrait is the Lord Mayor and the Lady Marist together

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:32:58.569 - 00:33:08.3 

 and that's the first time that's ever happened Um there was a little bit of debate in the office about that but we wanted to show that we're a team It's not just me and it's not just law Mare and Consor It's

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:33:08.979 - 00:33:13.819 

 it's a it's a Lord Mayor and a lady mayor together Um and it's not just

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:33:14.5 - 00:33:17.89 

 the man and his consort you know

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:33:18.439 - 00:33:21.619 

 to show a bit more equality and and get both of us on there

Simon

00:33:22.619 - 00:33:24.069 

 Yeah because if if it's a

Simon

00:33:24.66 - 00:33:35.219 

 if it's a lady mayoress that's the That's the the actual mayor then their other half isn't called the Lord Mayor are they're called the Consort Is that right Is that how that

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:33:35.699 - 00:33:43.26 

 the mayor's consort Although I I've said to Nicky if she ever does to get elected and becomes Lord Mayor I will insist on being called the Lady Mayor

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:33:43.9 - 00:33:48.829 

 I get to I get to wear that nice necklace and

Ian

00:33:49.8 - 00:34:13.189 

 it's worth it And and I guess that's that's just maybe one that we could explore Tom obviously you know you you're in elected office and and you know how was how was you know how is Nicky found that that kind of adjustment from being kind of catapulted into the uh into your into your kind of mayoral world

Ian

00:34:13.378 - 00:34:15.969 

 is she is she um grasp it with both hands

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:34:17.03 - 00:34:28.959 

 Yeah Yeah I think definitely She's uh I think she's probably better at it than I am to be fair but she's She's done a few things on her own Um she's she's really using it to to help promote women and

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:34:30.05 - 00:34:35.1 

 work with Children And especially as I said earlier uh neurodiversity neuro divergence

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:34:35.82 - 00:34:49.84 

 Uh we had uh we actually organised a We had a visit from a a nursery come in or preschoolers and Nicky organised all sorts of activities for them and it was it was really good It went down really well And now we've got lots of lots of nurseries that wanna come and visit us so

Simon

00:34:50.35 - 00:35:00.389 

 that will certainly keep you busy But that must I mean that I mean that hopefully is a memory that will that will stay with those kids for uh for life Surely that's going to be quite a quite a thing

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:35:01.35 - 00:35:05.129 

 I think Um I realised a few weeks in that people

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:35:05.5 - 00:35:13.12 

 might not get to ever see a lord mayor or a mayor So I I always make time for people And I'll never say no to a photo If you've got the chain on

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:35:13.709 - 00:35:24.459 

 and you can see how much it means to some people because they're like Oh and they're driving in the car And you see people probably do a double take and like just open your watch the car go past Always give them a little wave

Ian

00:35:24.76 - 00:35:30.54 

 Ha Have you perfected your wave Is it Do you Do you always have to sit in the back Is that part of the protocol as well

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:35:30.719 - 00:35:43.399 

 Yeah I'm not even allowed to open the iron door Which uh which That's it I'm getting used to cos your car pulls up and you just automatically go to get out And now I have to wait for them to come round and open it So it's a little odd

Ian

00:35:44.29 - 00:35:53.639 

 there There must be some So you must have And And I guess you're what six months into the role now And what What would you say has perhaps been the most surreal moment so far

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:35:54.32 - 00:35:55.639 

 I think probably

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:35:56.229 - 00:36:03.169 

 it's probably the Japan thing To be honest with you it was just very odd to be that far away on my own with a big hunk of

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:36:03.949 - 00:36:05.3 

 priceless gold

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:36:06.08 - 00:36:18.679 

 Um but yeah that was that was quite odd Uh there's been other bits as well We like we uh got invited to a charity zoo in Westminster and met Charles Dance That that was that was pretty cool

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:36:19.899 - 00:36:28.02 

 Uh uh It's just been a great opportunity to like I say do stuff we never even think of doing which enjoying it all It's been really good

Ian

00:36:28.959 - 00:36:43.699 

 Yeah And I think uh and it's it's It's a fascinating perspective because it's that element of you know again quite often on the podcast We you know we we discuss these the kind of serious issues and the tensions and the politics and everything else It it sounds like you're having

Ian

00:36:44.58 - 00:36:53.76 

 a a an awful lot of fun It's that kind of embraced it with with both hands and gone Well we're gonna run with this hard for a year and have as much fun as we can have Yeah

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:36:53.78 - 00:37:04.879 

 Yeah definitely We've We've We've booked a holiday for the first half term after May So literally the first half term after we've after we've stopped being Lord Mary Lou Mares We we're going away for a week with the kids all inclusive in Spain

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:37:05.35 - 00:37:25.09 

 So we're just gonna gonna keep going and we'll we'll have a break then one of I'd say most of the most surreal thing actually is is getting saluted by officers I was a I was a I was an able rating in the Navy to get saluted by a lieutenant commander or something I'm like What am I supposed to do with that It's very

Simon

00:37:25.1 - 00:37:29.169 

 odd So do you Um what do you do with that Do you have to salute them back Is that the

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:37:29.179 - 00:37:32.76 

 protocol or I just uh I I have to nod Um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:37:32.929 - 00:37:41.739 

 cos uh II I do have worn my old navy beret at the Falklands one of the Falklands memorials for instance So I can I can salute back if I've got that one

Simon

00:37:42.78 - 00:37:45.03 

 There's a whole kind of list of

Simon

00:37:45.679 - 00:38:01.0 

 different kind of D OS and don't things So it it it kind of the part of it kind of sounds like you you'd expect it to be And with there's so much tradition kind of surrounding it you'd almost you'd almost expect it to be kind of quite stuffy and quite staid and quite restrained And

Simon

00:38:01.58 - 00:38:18.37 

 But what's coming across from how you how you're talking about it is is actually how much life you're kind of breathing into that and how how enjoyable You're both finding that despite all the all the hard work cos of just the sheer value that that has and and the response you can see you can see in other other people

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:38:19.06 - 00:38:21.489 

 Yeah Yeah definitely We definitely um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:38:22.949 - 00:38:26.739 

 definitely added a a level of unpredictability I'd say

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:38:27.76 - 00:38:43.639 

 from the normal Uh uh we can We can turn on the formality when we need to We we're pretty good at gauging gauging when we need to be sensible and it's very staid And uh but but we just We're just having fun It's great Well

Simon

00:38:43.699 - 00:38:56.449 

 pretty Who Who who wouldn't want to have that much fun and all Have all of those the opportunity to do such worthwhile work Um it it um it it it sounds It sounds really really great So

Simon

00:38:56.81 - 00:39:00.429 

 having having talked about all of all of those things that

Simon

00:39:01.83 - 00:39:11.61 

 uh yeah with thinking about kind of um the the role itself or or probably more specifically the you You know you've seen the council chamber from both sides both sides of the mace

Simon

00:39:13.189 - 00:39:25.31 

 What What things would you change about uh about how they uh how they operate I if you could not that the Lord mayor has the power to probably you can't you know wave the mace and say I directed it Or can you Can you

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:39:26.629 - 00:39:29.32 

 No I'm not I'm not even really supposed to touch it Ok

Simon

00:39:29.83 - 00:39:35.53 

 is it kind of sat there as a as a referential cos you know someone kind of brings it in and kind of lays it out And

Simon

00:39:36.08 - 00:39:37.169 

 yeah I I

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:39:37.179 - 00:39:45.02 

 have I have I have with the gloves on Obviously I have I have felt the weight of it It's really heavy and it's all one end heavy So it's It's quite it's quite a difficult

Simon

00:39:45.03 - 00:39:48.02 

 thing to hold Wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of it if someone was to swing it at me

Ian

00:39:49.12 - 00:40:00.31 

 I've I've always I've always thought of the mace as being ceremonial but it is I mean obviously based on the mediaeval weapon of being a mace

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:40:01.25 - 00:40:10.12 

 Oh you could do some damage if you were swinging it I think Yeah I think I think I think it weighs about weighs about a stone I think and like I say it's all at one end So

Simon

00:40:11.56 - 00:40:20.0 

 that's one way to stop the council meeting arguments It's kind of waving that around Would would quieten them down a little bit I guess But

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:40:21.86 - 00:40:26.82 

 obviously we Sorry I was gonna say we touched on earlier about

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:40:27.06 - 00:40:33.699 

 being mindful of If things need to be on the agenda Is this is this something we're just using to

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:40:34.469 - 00:40:40.189 

 dig at other people or actually something that's gonna make a difference to people in Portsmouth I think um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:40:41.76 - 00:40:52.59 

 this this some people who insist on speaking on every single item and they might not necessarily need to They're just repeating things that someone else in their groups already said and it slows things down and I think it turns people off a bit

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:40:53.129 - 00:40:56.76 

 It's just just reducing the length of time that we're in there So

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:40:57.56 - 00:41:06.8 

 it this uh I've heard estimates of midnight and one o'clock in the morning for Tuesday but I'll I'll try and make sure it runs a lot smoother than that We

Ian

00:41:06.81 - 00:41:15.1 

 We've already started our sweepstake Tom We we tend to look at the agenda and then then then have a have a go we And and I'll be honest with you

Ian

00:41:15.26 - 00:41:23.06 

 I I you know again and I don't want to set you down a challenge But um we've got you We've got you the wrong side of midnight I'm afraid so Um 00

Simon

00:41:26.34 - 00:41:28.28 

 OK Well um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:41:28.59 - 00:41:39.31 

 I do I do hold the record apparently for quickest ever full council which is the appointing of the chief executive and honorary recorder I think it was nine minutes 45 or something like that So

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:41:39.659 - 00:41:40.35 

 I think

Ian

00:41:42.04 - 00:41:47.5 

 I think it would take more than nine minutes 45 just to read out the agenda for Tuesday So um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:41:47.62 - 00:41:51.479 

 it's it's it's it's a It's a definitely a big thick one

Simon

00:41:51.629 - 00:41:54.929 

 Many trees were called in the printing of the of this document

Simon

00:41:55.31 - 00:41:55.75 

 Um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:41:56.78 - 00:42:23.949 

 so I think I think also like uh there's a lot of muttering and stage whispering that goes on during meetings that I I've never noticed as a counsellor but it's really audible from from the chair Uh uh It's uh a level of respect I think it needs to be maintained also things like addressing the chair which I think is 38 a 37 a standing order So you're supposed to address everything through the chair rather than looking at the person that's just spoken and directing everything at them that

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:42:24.439 - 00:42:32.59 

 brings the respect up and makes it a bit more formal I think so I I do insist upon that And uh as we said earlier I have turned microphones off before So

Simon

00:42:33.04 - 00:42:50.51 

 well well I guess that that also stops it It well II I guess maybe the part of the theory there is to is to stop it being so adversarial I don't know what what difference it makes Really Cos it doesn't seem to stop it being um so maybe it would be worse without it But but yeah I've noticed Sometimes people kind of slip into out of habit They will They'll direct

Simon

00:42:51.05 - 00:43:17.37 

 They'll direct their response to the to the person that their um their rebuttal is is aimed at rather than um rather than directing it at at the law mayor Um but it it is kind of In some ways it's kind of a mini kind of It's kind of a mini represent representation of kind of parliament in that sort of sense isn't it And where the where the MP are supposed to address the speaker rather than um rather than the other the other MP Um

Simon

00:43:17.729 - 00:43:27.33 

 but as the a a as the chair of the uh of the of the meeting You've you I I guess if they really misbehave you just you don't give them a break

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:43:28.179 - 00:43:28.83 

 Yeah

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:43:29.5 - 00:43:31.54 

 I I might need one there Well

Ian

00:43:31.55 - 00:43:58.06 

 and I was gonna touch on that John if Tom if you don't mind me um doing that you you've mentioned there and we were We were chatting that the you know that you have a DH D and one of the things we've we've noted is that you know in in the business world No Nobody would schedule an eight or 10 hour meeting Um so So I guess you know if you don't mind share how how do you get through such a

Ian

00:43:58.52 - 00:44:13.09 

 a A long and grinding schedule When you know I guess other counsellors can can just drift off into the middle distance and you know zone out for a half an hour But it it feels like you've got to be very much on your toes for all eight hours

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:44:13.8 - 00:44:22.61 

 Yeah So yeah when I was a counsellor I deliberately sat from the where the chair is deliberately at the back back left just because I could get to the tee easier

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:44:23.129 - 00:44:51.729 

 and nip out to the loo if I needed to But actually as I said at the beginning it's It's a lot less intensive being the Lord mayor I've got a script that I followed with Like if this happens do this If this happens do that I've got the the city solicitor and the the head of the democracy uh head of Democratic services to help me out And it's just I've got the I've got the list on the screen of what all the people have called in It's just making sure I turn the microphones on and off So I've not been doing too bad

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:44:52.0 - 00:44:53.56 

 Brilliant Um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:44:54.5 - 00:44:56.169 

 I I don't think I'd be able to do it if I

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:44:56.979 - 00:45:12.1 

 tried to be Lord Mayor before I was uh back on medication for a DH D It definitely does help And uh I've I've got I've got Heather my sergeant at Mace on hand to to bring me tea and coffee as and when And uh as I say I can always call a break if I need to

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:45:13.26 - 00:45:23.36 

 Um so yeah that's that's completely in my gift I think it was the the last full count So I I decided I was gonna go in in full robes and about halfway through I decided that was too hot

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:45:23.969 - 00:45:30.32 

 So I had to call a break to go and take it off because I was just It was it wasn't a good idea It looks good though

Simon

00:45:31.149 - 00:45:39.159 

 I should imagine it looks kind of very resplendent Um but I I did I did wonder actually how warm they are because especially if you're like sat in that chamber

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:45:39.85 - 00:45:50.1 

 Oh yeah It's it's a lot So even even after I realised uh after Mare making I was trying to find my family where everyone's having tea and coffee and it's just everyone just wanted a photo

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:45:50.479 - 00:46:02.469 

 crowd around me and I was just just dripping in sweat underneath all that So I I Generally I'll just wear a just wear a shirt and trousers underneath and I'll put the jacket on when I take it off But they're they're very warm

Ian

00:46:02.8 - 00:46:10.544 

 No it was a It was a few years ago when uh former Councillor Lee Mason was mayor He came to an official event at the rugby club

Ian

00:46:10.554 - 00:46:30.629 

 which you think would have been a winter thing And it was It was early season It was 28 degrees and he was in the full robes and I I did feel feel for him that you know at one point he sort of went and hid under the shade of the trees And so it does sound like a It is a pretty uh pretty full on event So I guess if we look ahead you know you talked about May and often

Ian

00:46:30.879 - 00:46:54.75 

 you know uh for us on the podcast once We uh once we get past the elections and and obviously you know we do the hustings in the run up to the elections we tend to collapse in a heap I guess the the the it is part of the challenge is you know we we know that local political parties are you know they're not You know they're not hundreds strong full of activists And we know that

Ian

00:46:54.929 - 00:47:11.02 

 that you know the councillors and candidates help each other out Um do do you see a challenge coming next kind of April where probably you and Nicky would have been knocking doors and delivering leaflets Where you you're still gonna have to be full on with your mayoral responsibilities Yeah

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:47:11.03 - 00:47:21.54 

 it's gonna be It's gonna be odd I think Definitely Cos I mean I've been campaigning at Fratton since 2012 2013 So it's gonna be very odd Sort of having to

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:47:22.0 - 00:47:34.179 

 be busy with more stuff and taking a little bit of a background I'll go out and help out where I can Uh hopefully I don't think anyone in in my party definitely knows this ward half as well as me But um

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:47:34.75 - 00:47:40.84 

 but yeah it's it's it's it'll be It'll be nice to be doing something else for a for a bit I think But

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:47:41.79 - 00:47:44.58 

 so uh it's gonna be an odd time

Simon

00:47:44.919 - 00:47:49.82 

 So you you you definitely wouldn't want to be pounding the streets with a with a bag full of leaflets and a chain

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:47:51.879 - 00:47:54.04 

 Oh that that definitely wouldn't go down Well

Simon

00:47:54.12 - 00:48:07.514 

 no I can I I can imagine it not but just from a sheer um sheer just carrying it around perspective I mean it's it it It's one sort of exercise regime But it's um not one that Democratic Services I guess would like very much

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:48:07.524 - 00:48:09.375 

 No no definitely not

Ian

00:48:09.385 - 00:48:23.169 

 keen So So with the with the with the next six months Tom is there could are you able to pick out sort of one or two highlights for us and the listeners where you know potentially people could get involved and and support what you're doing

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:48:23.77 - 00:48:34.51 

 Uh obviously we've got the We've got remembrance coming up next month which is one of the biggest things especially being a a historically military town That's always a big turnout down the Guildhall Um but uh

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:48:35.649 - 00:48:53.659 

 very very busy few days There including uh doing a wreath at Q A which I think is the first time that's been done Been very close with the chap who's in charge of veteran services up there Uh we got lots of stuff going on at Christmas We have our coffee mornings Uh I think it's the

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:48:54.51 - 00:48:57.5 

 second Tuesday of every month I might be wrong on that

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:48:58.12 - 00:49:19.709 

 Uh and then we have other things that we've got a meal this week which is sold out Uh we've got quizzes coming up for our charity and it's it's all on our Facebook and Instagram I believe so Um yeah it's gonna be good We That's one thing we've had lots of good comments about is is our social media And that's that's all down to Nikki Really she's

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:49:20.489 - 00:49:27.719 

 got insta set up so it goes to Facebook automatically and uh it's it's just nice to show what the the Lord Mayor's up to

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:49:28.87 - 00:49:43.85 

 Uh it is I think might not have happened in the past as as much as we've been doing it We try to put one unfair every single post cos there might be uh charities or groups that could do with a bit of publicity so we're happy to help promote those things No

Ian

00:49:43.86 - 00:49:56.709 

 that's brilliant And I think in our experience of of uh without wishing to be unkind working with some of our local councillors and candidates over the years we've we've perhaps found some It would be fair to say Simon who are

Ian

00:49:57.0 - 00:50:02.489 

 not perhaps at the cutting edge of tech savvy Would that be Um would that be fair

Simon

00:50:02.879 - 00:50:09.28 

 I think that's that's probably a fair a fair assessment Um

Simon

00:50:10.219 - 00:50:19.649 

 but Lord mayors aren't kind of limited with that I think that's that's quite a thing at probably across the chamber There's There's some people that are really great at social media And there's some people that

Simon

00:50:21.149 - 00:50:23.969 

 um wouldn't know a

Simon

00:50:24.669 - 00:50:32.399 

 wouldn't know a thumbs up from a a retweet Um or is it a re X Now I'm not sure I can't You know

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:50:32.83 - 00:50:35.09 

 I still call it Twitter I'm not calling her

Ian

00:50:36.07 - 00:50:58.03 

 something not right about that So So no to Tom Thank you ever so much for sharing Uh you know uh fantastic insights into everything you're doing So uh is there just anything you'd you'd like to sort of close the show up with to to either let us know or or uh anybody in particular you'd like to call out Well I'd

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:50:58.04 - 00:51:02.679 

 like to I'd like to Of course Thank the lady heiress Nicky Coles for

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:51:02.87 - 00:51:09.36 

 uh patience and understanding Uh over the years uh it was our anniversary Last Fri on Friday just gone So

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:51:10.06 - 00:51:28.55 

 uh she's been putting up with me for 16 years now but she she's uh I I couldn't do this without her And a and a big shout out to my three girls Ellen Kiera and Darcy as well um which which take up all the time I'm not doing anything else And a big big thanks to you two You two guys as well for having me on sky It's been great fun chatting to you guys

Simon

00:51:29.01 - 00:51:34.34 

 You you're more than welcome It's been it's been lovely to have you We appreciate you taking the time out of your evening

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:51:35.169 - 00:51:38.919 

 Marvellous It's been it's been It's been an absolute pleasure Fabulous

Ian

00:51:39.87 - 00:51:45.139 

 You've been listening to the Pompey politics podcast I've been Ian Tiny Morris

Simon

00:51:46.36 - 00:51:47.949 

 and our guest has been

Lord Mayor of Portsmouth

00:51:50.159 - 00:51:53.139 

 the vote worship for the Lord Mayor Portsmouth Councillor Tom Coles

Simon

00:51:53.59 - 00:52:17.879 

 and and I've been Simon Sansbury And don't forget to join us Uh next week at 6 27 Um when we'll be having a look at how that marathon meeting um turned out and we'll see whether Tom managed to get home Uh after um shortly after midnight or before Um and how everyone else did and how how the votes went Um so join us next week at 6 27 Um you'll be listening to the Pompey politics podcast

Simon

00:52:25.969 - 00:52:28.989 

 Thank you for listening to this episode of the Pompey Politics podcast

Simon

00:52:29.649 - 00:52:32.82 

 If you want to make sure you get notifications about upcoming shows

Simon

00:52:33.59 - 00:52:46.979 

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Simon

00:52:47.629 - 00:53:06.139 

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