These were the colourful scenes today as a new Lord Mayor of York was installed in office.
The city’s VIPs, honorary aldermen, councillors and guests gathered to watch David Carr be sworn in inside the restored Guildhall.
Cllr Carr, a former Conservative leader of City of York Council who now sits as an independent, declared he was “delighted and thrilled” to be the new Lord Mayor of York. His wife Linda is Lady Mayoress.
Suzie Mercer becomes the new Sheriff, with her daughter Rebecca as Sheriff’s Consort.
Cllr Carr paid tribute to the outgoing Lord Mayor Chris Cullwick and his civic party for their year in office, which began under the shadow of the Covid pandemic.
The new Lord Mayor pointed out that today’s ceremony “has been performed since the early 1200s – a tradition going back over 800 years”.
Such traditions “remind us that we are all mere brief parts of a long, long story”.
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Cllr Carr, who was born in Sheffield, is the son of a Sheffield mother and a Polish father. His father, a soldier, escaped from the German occupation, came to England, and joined the British Army, fighting in Italy.
In his acceptance speech, he spoke of the “auspicious” year ahead, as York emerged from the pandemic and embraced the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
“On the other side of the coin, we can hear the drums of war beating in Europe again – a particularly poignant issue for me, as you’ve heard,” he told dignitaries in the Guildhall.
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“And the malign spectres of inflation and recession are beginning to raise their heads with their pernicious effects on our economy and our finances.
“Although a pause in our relentless consumption as humankind might give the planet a little respite.”
He said the civic party “will serve this great and ancient city and its citizens to the very best of our ability,” Cllr Carr concluded.
“I can assure you the mayoralty will be in very good hands.”