The Mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is the first citizen, chairperson of the Wigan Council and elected representative of the Wigan Borough and the Council.
Duties of the mayor and its origins The mayoralty of Wigan goes back to its first creation in 1246 AD, when Henry III granted the town its first royal charter; however, since 1974 the office of the mayor has been created by legislative statute of the Constitution of Wigan Council (Article 5, Section 1). The mayor of Wigan as the 'First Citizen' has highest precedence unless a member of the royal family is present. As the elected representative of the borough, the mayor acts as focal point for the community as well as promoting the borough and forging national and international links, which includes continuing links with the Mayor of Angers in Western France as the twinned city. The official position of the mayor and the council includes presiding over the meetings of the council, of which, if the mayor is unable to preside at the time, it is the duty of the elected deputy mayor to temporarily take his place. Wigan Town Hall in the centre of Wigan serves as the official location where the office of the mayor is located and also serves as the location for meetings of the council in the main chamber. The Town Hall of Leigh is often used by the mayor and other councillors as a second headquarters.
The position of the mayor is politically neutral and so even though the mayor remains chairman of the council, the council assembly elects itself a leader of the council who will also chair the Wigan Cabinet. The Office of the Mayor is located in the Wigan Town Hall were the Council Chamber is also located.
When in office, other duties include receiving members of the Royal Family and other state visitors, attending ceremonies and engagements of charities as representative that take place within or out of the borough. The mayor also leads the service on Remembrance Sunday at the cenotaph of Wigan Town Centre in November.
Succession, deputy mayor, mayoress and consort The deputy mayor of Wigan is elected by the council assembly as second citizen who assists the elected mayor and their consort in their duties. The deputy mayor is also first in succession to the mayoralty. The current deputy mayor is Susan Gambles.
Traditionally if the incumbent is a gentleman, the wife of the mayor would take the title of mayoress of Wigan. However, when a female mayor is elected, her husband would assume the role of mayor's consort.
Style and title
The mayor of Wigan is entitled to the style of "The Worshipful" however the style is only used when referring to the office rather than the holder and is not retained after they have left office. The mayor is referred to in speech as "Mr. Mayor" and if a female councillor is in office they are referred to as "Madam Mayor".
The full title of the current mayor is: "The Worshipful The Mayor of Wigan Council, Councillor Anne Collins"
List of mayors of Wigan
No.MayorTerm1Robert Matthew Lyons 197419752George Macdonald 197519763Joseph Albert Eckersley 197619774Thomas Gerard Morgan 197719785Leonard Sumner 197819796Harry Milligan 197919807William Charles Priest France 198019818James Bridge 198119829Thomas Jones 1982198310Thomas Isherwood 1983198411Peter Hull 1984198512George Alfred Lockett 1985198613Jack Sumner 1986198714James Jones 1987198815David Norris Caley 1988198916Audrey Bennett 1989199017Ronald McAllister. 1990199118John Horrocks 1991199219Arthur Wright 1992199320Joseph Clarke 1993199421William Stanley Simmons 1994199522Norman Bernard Holt 1995199623Anthony Bernard Coyle 1996199724Kenneth Pye 1997199825Samuel Little 1998199926(part) William Smith 1999200027(part) Evelyne Smith 1999200028Joan Hurst 2000200129John E. Hilton 2001200230Geoffrey Roberts 2002200331Wilfred Brogan 2003200432John Hilton 2004200533Brian Jarvis 2005200634Eunice Smethurst 2006200735John O'Brien 2007200836Rona Winkworth 2008200937Mark Aldred 2009201038Michael Winstanley 2010201139Joy Birch 2011201240Myra Whiteside 2012201341Billy Rotherham 2013201442Phyllis Cullen 2014201543Susan Loudon 2015201644Ronald Conway 2016201745Bill Clarke 2017201846Susan Greensmith 2018201947Stephen Dawber 2019202148Yvonne Klieve 2021202249Marie Morgan 2022202350Kevin Anderson 2023202451Debbie Parkinson 2024202552Jenny Bullen 2025202653Anne Collins 20262027
References
https://web.archive.org/web/20120505064643/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/Mayoralty http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/66534D13-E181-4BF6-BFF3-F05FC46600DC/0/Mayorcharitryleaflet.pdf