Lord Mayor of Plymouth
The Lord Mayor and the Lord Mayor’s Office are the council’s chief custodians of civic pride and its champions of community cohesion. We also support others in the council and the community to celebrate all that is good about life in Plymouth.
The Office of Lord Mayor is representational by nature, this means that the Lord Mayor holds no executive powers and the office of Lord Mayor is fundamentally apolitical, neutral and independent. This is one of its greatest strengths and means that the Lord Mayor can represent all sections of the community as First Citizen without fear or favour.
At the same time the office of Lord Mayor carries its own unique set of rights and historic entitlements. For example, the Lord Mayor of Plymouth has long been recognised as being second only to Royalty and to the King's Deputy, the Lord Lieutenant or the Representative Deputy Lieutenant.
This means that the Lord Mayor has unlimited rights to precedence in the City and is always afforded due dignity and respect as the most important person in attendance at public events, save those where a member of The Royal Family and His Majesty’s Deputy is present. For civic events within the City boundaries where the King’s Deputy is present, but not a member of the Royal Family, the Lord Mayor enjoys precedence over all as First Citizen.
The Lord Mayor must be a serving councillor and each year the Conservative Party and the Labour Party (the two main political parties that make up the City Council) take in turns to hold the position. The Lord Mayor nominates their Deputy Lord Mayor.
The Role of Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is chosen by the other councillors who serve on the council and is elected in May each year at the annual meeting of the City Council.
The Lord Mayor has two important roles, a ceremonial role and as chair of City Council meetings.
Ceremonial
- Supports the community
- Promotes the interests of the council and the city
Chair of City Council meetings
- Makes sure all points of view are fairly heard
- Makes sure council members follow rules and procedures
- Has the casting vote if there is a tied vote
The Lord Mayor also hosts a series of civic events over the course of the year and presides over a number of high profile civic ceremonial events.
Invitations to events
You can invite the Lord Mayor or Deputy Lord Mayor to an event or function, we need to receive your invitation at least three weeks before the event.
The Lord Mayor Councillor (Mrs) Tina Tuohy and Lady Mayoress Freya Hitt
Tina was born in Berlin in 1934. Her father, Ralph Izzard, was a foreign correspondent for the Daily Mail and he met and married her mother, who was a German research worker in a hospital in Berlin, while covering the rise of Hitler.
When war broke out Tina and her mother were on the last train out of Berlin. Her parents joined the war effort and she was brought up in boarding schools and relied on the kindness of others to look after her during the holidays. When Tina was 14 she finally went to live with her mother in London.
Tina attended schools in Devon, Europe and London and later studied Fine Arts in London at the City & Guilds Arts School and Central School of Arts. In 1987 she became a mature student at the University of Exeter and gained a PhD in Archaeology and also did a course in Wetland Archaeology in Leiden in the Netherlands.
At aged 18 Tina was living independently, attended a secretarial course and paid her own way through Art School and started painting and travelling around Europe. She then went on to spend the first few years of married life living in London. When her son Josh was born she left London and settled down in Plymouth with him and her husband Ray Tuohy; Tina says this was the best decision she ever made. Her daughter Freya was born in Plymouth and at this time she was a fulltime housewife until the children left school, Notre Dame for Freya and St Boniface College for Josh. After Tina graduated at Exeter, she worked in their Adult Education section for 12 years teaching archaeology.
Tina joined the Labour Party in1978 after her family settled in North Prospect where they lived for 35 years until the regeneration of the estate. When their house was demolished, they moved five minutes’ walk away from the old one; Tina still lives in Ham Ward.
In 2009 her work at Exeter came to an end and at the same time she was asked to stand as a Ward Councillor in Ham. Tina had already been involved in the Community as a voluntary worker producing carnivals and community projects for some time, so it seemed a natural step, she won the seat and is still here. After Tina became a Councillor, she was then appointed a board member of Plymouth Community Homes, for 6 years. She still continues as a Board member of the Wolseley Trust and she is a Council appointee on North Yard Community Trust and a member of the Discovery MAT Weston Mill Community School. Tina is also a member of Friends of Ham Woods and involved in history projects in North Prospect and Weston Mill.
Tina still has a strong interest in Archaeology both locally and on Dartmoor and enjoys walking with her dog.
Freya grew up in Plymouth and at 23 married into the armed forces. Freya and her husband had two children, Bethany and Max, now in their 20s. During that time and various postings they found themselves stationed in Saudi Arabia which was a great opportunity for her and her children to experience.
They enjoyed many travels abroad, but Plymouth was always home to them. Circumstances brought Freya and her children back to their Ocean city and she became a hairdresser. They have made many fond memories of trips to the Hoe and often find themselves on the Cremyl ferry heading to Mount Edgecombe.
The Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Pauline Murphy and the Deputy Lord Mayor's Consort Councillor Mark Coker
Pauline was born in1959 in Plymouth and has two children - a daughter and a son and three grandchildren (Luke, Mia and Jessica).
She attended Knowle Primary School and Crownhill Secondary Modern. On leaving school Pauline gained an apprenticeship as a Sailmaker with DML and on completion of her apprenticeship continued her employment with DML until she left to start a family. Pauline had a change of career and became an employee of Plymouth Citybus as a bus driver and then moved on to the Traffic Department within Plymouth Citybus. Pauline is currently employed with Southwest Public Transport Information as a Regional Data Co-ordinator.
She is currently the President of the Royal British Legion Crownhill Branch, President of the Federation of Plymouth and District Ex-Services Association, Chair of Future Fit and a Trustee of Hamoaze House.
Pauline is an active member of the Labour Party and was elected as a Councillor in the Efford and Lipson Ward in 2010. She is currently Chair of Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Chair/Champion of the Armed Forces Covenant and Chief Officers Appeals Panel
Pauline has been Deputy Lady Mayoress 2006-2007, Lady Mayoress 2008-2009, Deputy Lord Mayor 2014-2015 and Lord Mayor 2016-2017.
Pauline enjoys walking, football and all sports and has completed 6 London marathons to raise funds for youth football. She is also a member of the Devon Wildlife Trust
Plymouth has been home to Councillor Mark Coker for over forty years and he has been a Devonport Ward Councillor for over 18 years. Mark has said that it will be a pleasure and honour to be the Deputy Lord Mayor consort.
The Lord Mayor’s Office
The Mayoralty is supported by a small civic team which advises the Lord Mayor in their role as First Citizen and ambassador of the City. The team also leads a comprehensive annual programme of civic engagements.
Over the course of the year the office arranges a varied programme of events and activities aimed at promoting community cohesion through civic engagement. These are in addition to the day to day diary of engagements carried out by the Lord Mayor or those deputising on the Lord Mayor’s behalf.
The Lord Mayor’s Office is also responsible for the organisation of an annual programme of civic events including:
- The Inauguration of the Lord Mayor (Lord Mayor’s Choosing) which is incorporated as part of the Annual Meeting of the Council in May of each year
- Armed Forces Day/VE Day
- Annual Survey of the Waterworks and Fishing Feast
- Remembrance Sunday
- Lord Mayor’s Carol Service
- Holocaust Memorial Day
- Commonwealth Flag Raising
- Lord Mayor’s Civic Church Service
The Office is also responsible for arranging special ceremonies where the City’s highest honours, The Honorary Freedom of the City of Plymouth, are presented. In addition, the office also manages all ceremonial arrangements for conferring the title of Honorary Alderman on councillors who have served 15 years on the Council.
If you would like any further information or wish to invite the Lord Mayor to attend and speak at your event or activity, contact the Lord Mayor’s Office, email [email protected].
Coat of arms – Plymouth City
The armorial bearings of the Corporation of Plymouth symbolise much of the history of the city. The arms display the Cross of St Andrew to whom the Mother Church of Plymouth is dedicated, and also the four turrets which formed the corners of the Castle Quadrate which stood above the Barbican commanding the entrants to Sutton Pool. The description in heraldic language is Argent, a saltire vert between four towers sable.
The Crest is a blue naval crown with a red anchor held in a golden lions paw. Two other naval crowns form collars for the lion supporters. Both crown and anchor were part of the crest of the former County Borough of Devonport. Here is represented the part which the Royal Navy has played in the life of the city.
Council identity mark
The current city identity mark derives from elements of the armorial bearings
Past Lord Mayors
Our Mayors and Lord Mayors dating back to 1439 is available on our list of past Lord Mayors page.