Cllr Barbara Murray will take over from Richard Kemp as the new Lord Mayor of Liverpool
Cllr Barbara Murray, the new Lord Mayor of Liverpool
The new Lord Mayor of Liverpool said she was “lost for words” after being confirmed as the city’s first citizen. Cllr Barbara Murray took over the chains of office in a ceremony at Liverpool Town Hall this evening.
Having served as deputy Lord Mayor to the outgoing Cllr Richard Kemp, Labour councillor Murray will now take her place as civic head for the next 12 months. Cllr Murray has served the city since 2007, representing the Yew Tree ward in West Derby, and becomes the 42nd person to hold the Lord Mayoralty.
Her consort will be her son Richard, and her daughters Ruth and Elizabeth will share the role of Lady Mayoress. Addressing the chamber on ascending to the Lord Mayoralty, Cllr Murray said after an accident last August she was “grateful to be here at all.”
She said: “I’m so proud of the fact I’ve come from humble beginnings to sit here this evening. I’m really lucky to have been born in this city, I love this city.
“Our city is resurging as we speak and I hope to play a part in that.”
During a varied career, Cllr Murray was employed as a civil servant at the Inland Revenue, a retail area manager, a teacher and a community development worker for a housing provider. A school governor since the 1990s, Cllr Murray was named School Governor of the Year in 2008 by Liverpool Council for her work chairing the first Interim Executive Board in the city.
She became a National Leader of Governance in 2016. Since 2004, Cllr Murray has worked with Britain in Bloom and the Royal Horticultural Society on the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ community projects, and was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by North West In Bloom in 2017.
Liverpool Town Hall(Image: Peter Byrne – Pool/Getty Images)
A published poet herself, Cllr Murray was a founder member of the ‘Dead Good Poets Society’ in the city, and has performed locally and nationally. Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, described Cllr Murray as “dedicated to public service” and praised her “fun side and human touch.”
During her time in office, the new Lord Mayor has chosen to support the Liverpool Education Grants Charitable Trust, previously known as the Council of Education, which provides financial awards, bursaries and grants for extracurricular and cultural activities to students up to the age of 25 years.
The Lord Mayor has asked the charity to set up a specific funding stream for lifelong learning and skills to improve employability and address poverty. The direct beneficiaries during her mayoral year will be Liverpool Literacy Cycle, Youth Works apprenticeships and Liverpool Poetry Space.
In his financial speech, outgoing Lord Mayor, Cllr Richard Kemp, paid tribute to those who had supported him during his year in office. He said it had been his mission to draw attention to those leaving care as well as opening up Liverpool to opportunities.
The new deputy Lord Mayor will be Old Swan West Cllr William Shortall.