TOMORROW is the council’s annual meeting, our municipal New Year’s Day. This is a special civic, rather than political, occasion where we acknowledge the outgoing Mayor for his work, and elect his successor.

I would like to place on record my thanks to Coun Andrew Bennett, who has held the office of mayor for the past 12 months. He has worked hard at all his civic duties and has proved an honourable ambassador for the council. Andrew chose not to seek re-election to the council and the annual meeting will be his final act of 12 years’ service to the borough. We all wish him well on his retirement from public life.

Coun Eric Shaw, the present deputy mayor, will be the candidate to take on the mayoral responsibilities. These duties are quite extensive and vary from hosting the regular formal Citizenship Ceremonies to explaining how the council works to local schoolchildren.

It also involves visiting the plentiful community groups and local charities we are fortunate to have. I am confident that Eric will add his own distinctive qualities to his year as mayor and that he will be very busy. It is clear from the number of requests that we receive for the mayor to attend events that residents and groups value the fact that we have such a role. I believe that there is little to compare with the Civic “Thank You” that the mayor delivers on behalf of the whole borough, short of a royal dignitary.

The office of mayor here dates back to 1900, the first year of the original Borough of Swindon. Although some may see mayor-making as merely ceremonial, for me it is a link with both our history and our other major institutions.

It is also one of those rare occasions where the Council Chamber allows us to note the things that unite us as a community rather than the partisan political issues that may cause division. Alongside the civic part of annual council, as leader I have been busy assembling my new Cabinet. I feel like a team captain or manager, surveying the wide range of different talents available and then trying to decide which individuals will be the most effective on your behalf. At the heart of my choices I have kept in mind that the council must deliver the Vision, the Priorities, and the Pledges we adopted last September.

I am confident that the nine councillors I have chosen, including the new deputy leader of the council, Russell Holland, will commit themselves to the service of all the people of Swindon and make the necessary and challenging decisions that lie ahead.