News & Views

Acceptance Speech – Common Hall – 24th June 2025 

My Lord Mayor, fellow Liverymen. 

I stand before you today deeply honoured and profoundly grateful for the trust you have placed in me by electing me to serve as one of your sheriffs for the year 2025-26. 

Since receiving the nomination from the Court of Aldermen last year, I have been very conscious that it is the Livery who form the electorate for this ancient office. 

Accordingly, I have tried to meet, engage with, listen to, and learn from as many Livery Companies as possible — and it has been both a joy and a privilege to do so, and I am very grateful for your generosity, your time and your hospitality. 

To all those who have extended support and encouragement along the way – from across the Livery, the Court of Aldermen, and the wider City – I offer my heartfelt thanks. 

Town Clerk, for good order, may I formally place on record my acceptance of the office of Sheriff. 

And as I do so it is with a deep awareness of the heritage and responsibility that comes with this role — the oldest secular office in the country after the Sovereign. 

The role of Sheriff is not just ceremonial; it is fundamentally about supporting the Mayoralty in championing the City's global standing and civic mission, and I commit to working with the Lord Mayor, and on a joint civic plan with his elected successor and my fellow Sheriff. 

The office of Sheriff is also a living link to our City's enduring values of justice, service, and civic duty, and I look forward to working closely with my fellow Shrieval candidate, whom I warmly congratulate. 

In that spirit, the Justice for All Series which I will be launching will seek to explore why access to justice is not only a moral imperative, but also makes good economic sense. 

We also look forward to including young people in our programme and will uphold and promote the City's global stature both at home and abroad. 

Throughout my career — whether serving in the Army, representing the Ward of Cheap, or working in finance — I have witnessed the power of community. In the year ahead, we will celebrate the achievements of our Livery Companies, support the charitable efforts that make our City stronger and more inclusive, and continue to honour all that makes this City a place of excellence and purpose. 

I want to offer huge thanks to my family — to Elspeth and to all my supporters. Elspeth and I are very much looking forward to working with Keith and Kevin during our year together at the Old Bailey. 

I am deeply humbled by this opportunity and aim to serve with diligence, integrity, and pride in our City's shared heritage, and our future. 

Thank you. 

My Lord Mayor. 

 

Alderman and Haberdasher

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