Bridgwater’s new Mayor, Cllr Leigh Redman, was elected by councillors at Bridgwater Town Council’s Annual Meeting held on Thursday 21 May. Cllr Redman, who previously served as Deputy Mayor, took over the mayoral chain from Cllr Kathy Pearce and will serve as Mayor for the coming year. Cllr Leigh Redman said, “It is a great honour to serve as Mayor of Bridgwater once again. As a lifelong resident, I am deeply proud of our town and the people who make it such a strong and vibrant community. I look forward to working with residents, community groups and partners to help ensure Bridgwater continues to thrive and reach its full potential.”

Cllr Redman represents the Hamp Ward and is also a Somerset Councillor for Bridgwater North and Central. Leigh has a long-standing commitment to public service and the local community. Over the past eight years, he has been a strong advocate for youth services and has worked to ensure that the Hinkley Point C development delivers tangible benefits for the people of Bridgwater. He is also an active member and Secretary of the Hamp Community Association. With an engineering and trade union background, Leigh has dedicated much of his working life to service, including 20 years as a retained firefighter at Bridgwater Fire Station. During this time, he also represented the Fire Brigades Union on national issues. This will be Cllr Redman’s third term as Mayor, having previously served in 2015 and again during the extended COVID-19 period in 2020 and 2021, when he worked hard to reassure residents and visitors that “Bridgwater was open for business” as the community emerged from the pandemic.

The Mayor’s chosen charity for the year ahead is Young Somerset, the county’s largest youth work charity. Young Somerset is dedicated to putting young people first, supporting them to take responsibility, build confidence and play an active role in shaping their communities through positive opportunities and trusted relationships. Cllr Redman is committed to engaging with young people and using his term to promote the role of the Mayor and the work of the Town Council to Bridgwater’s future generations.

The Deputy Mayor for the forthcoming year is Cllr Tim Mander (Westover)

If you would like the Mayor to attend your event you can complete our online form Book the Mayor – Bridgwater Town Council or contact us on 01278 427692

For information about the role of Mayor of Bridgwater click here.

PAST MAYORS OF BRIDGWATER

From 1465 until 1972 Bridgwater’s Mayors were seen as the Leader of the Town Council. But from 1973 Bridgwater became part of Sedgemoor District Council and the role of councillor elected in Bridgwater was reduced to simply ‘Charter Trustee’ whose limited powers amounted to electing one of them to be Mayor for the incoming year. For many years an arrangement between Labour and the Tories to share the role of Mayor was in place, probably reflecting the power of the new Tory controlled Sedgemoor  over Labour Bridgwater. But then in 1995 with the collapse of Tory power across the country Labour regained confidence and wrested back control of the Town Mayoralty with only one Tory (Philip Smeed) being invited to the role in 2007.

Historic Mayors of Bridgwater

Post War Mayors of Bridgwater

1945 R Chamberlain

1946 R Chamberlain

1947 R Washer

1948 R Washer

1949 R Washer

1950 E Wills

1951 E Wills

1952 P Wills

1953 G Hayball (Labour)

1954 A John

1955 R Biddiscombe

1956 N Gray

1957 Oscar Coate

1958 Jack Davies (Labour)

1959 Mrs Alice Potterton (Labour)

1960 J Headford (died) suc Alice Potterton

1961 A Frost

1962 C Milne

1963 C Harris

1964 Mrs Bea Davis

1965 Les Porter (Labour)

1966 Jack Davies (Labour)

1967 Louis Steer (died) suc C Harris

1968 Mrs Bea Davis

1969 Joe Ayres (Labour)

1970 Mrs Margaret Rees (Con)

1971 Mrs Irene Tester (Labour)

1972+73 Saunders (Lab)  -Last Borough Mayor

Charter Trustee Mayors of Bridgwater

1974 Charles Tester (Lab) – First Charter Trustee Mayor

1975 Trevor Donaldson (Con)

1976 Joe Ayres (Lab)

1977 Margaret Rees (Con)

1978 Mick Briscombe (Lab)

1979 Bill Chedgey (Lab)

1980 Mike Needs (Con)

1981 Ken Richards (Lab)

1982 Joe Ayres (Lab)

1983 Mike Cresswell (Con)

1984 Jenny Briscombe (Lab)

1985 Mary Tustian (Lab)

1986 Julie Hooper (Con)

1987 Ken Richards (Lab)

1988 Trevor Donaldson (Con)

1989 Joe Ayres (Trad Lab)

1990 Mike Cresswell (Con)

1991 Ken Richards (Lab)

1992 David Baker (Lib Dem)

1993 John Turner (Lab)

1994 Mick Briscombe (Lab)

1995 Trevor Donaldson (Con)

1996 Ken Parkin (Lab)

1997 Adrian Moore (Lab)

1998 Bill Munn (Lab)

1999 Roger Lavers (Lab)

2000 David Busby (Lab)

2001 Ken Richards (Lab)

2002 Adrian Moore (Lab) Last Charter Trustee Mayor

Town Council Mayors of Bridgwater

From 2003 the Government allowed Bridgwater to regain many of its ancient powers by creating a Town Council. With this new ‘parish’ status elections were held specifically for the role of Town Councillor.

2003 Adrian Moore (Lab) -1st TOWN Mayor

2004 Bill Munn (Lab)

2005 Bill Monteith (Lab)

2006 Pat Parker (Lab)

2007 Philip Smeed (Con)

2008 Graham Granter (Lab)

2009 Ken Richards (Lab)

2010 Bill Monteith (Lab)

2011 Pat Parker (Lab)

2012 Graham Granter (Lab)

2013 Dave Loveridge (Lab)

2014 Steve Austen (Lab)

2015 Leigh Redman (Lab)

2016 Alex Glassford (Lab)

2017 Graham Granter (Lab)

2018 Diogo Rodrigues (Lab)

2019 Tony Heywood (Lab)

2020 Leigh Redman (Lab)

2022 Liz Leavy (Lab)

2023 Mick Lerry (Lab)

2024 Jacqui Solomon (Lab)

2025 Kathy Pearce (Lab)

2026 Leigh Redman (Lab)