The Mayor

The Mayor

Councillor Ankur Shiv Bhandari was elected Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest on 18 May 2022.  Cllr Bhandari has represented Binfield with Warfield ward since 2019.

Ankur, his wife and two children have considered Bracknell home for 17 years.  

He is an entrepreneur, running businesses in fields of Shopper Marketing and Digital-led training.

Previously Ankur has held senior positions with corporates such as Procter & Gamble, Accenture and WPP and is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.

Ankur has worked around the world in more than 50 countries and holds an MBA, a post graduate teaching qualification and is about to complete his Master’s degree in law.

The Mayor said:

"I am looking forward to the year ahead and carrying out mayoral duties across the borough.

In particular, I am looking forward to getting out into our local communities and spreading the message of wellbeing, happiness and saying thanks.

I will be particularly focusing on opportunity for young people and businesses in the borough and will try to further the laurels of Bracknell as the 'Borough of Opportunity'.”

Responsibilities

The Mayor is a serving councillor elected to the office for one year at the Annual Council Meeting in May.

The key roles and responsibilities of the Mayor are to:

• represent the whole community served by the council, and act as a ‘symbol’ or figurehead of the authority on appropriate occasions
• act as a focus for community cohesion
• act as host on behalf of the council and citizens of the borough at functions arranged by the council such as Citizenship Ceremonies
• attend important functions as a representative of the borough or the council
• perform official openings or presentations throughout the borough
• promote wherever possible the diplomatic, business, commercial, community and education life of the borough
• uphold the office of the Mayor
• refrain from actively promoting any political party
• sign properly and appropriately authorised documents for sealing on behalf of the council
• chair meetings of the council fairly and impartially so that its business is carried out efficiently and with regard to the rights of councillors and the interest of the community
• liaise with officers on the content of the council agenda
• understand the Mayor’s role in the constitutional arrangements relating to the waiving of call-in when decisions are urgent and the taking of decisions on the grounds of urgency if they are not on the forward plan or are outside the budget and policy framework
• encourage the highest standards of behaviour and probity

The Deputy Mayor

Councillor Lizzy Gibson was elected Deputy Mayor on 18 May 2022.   

The Deputy Mayor attends events when the Mayor is unavailable.

Although there is no official role, the Deputy Mayor should be treated just like the Mayor as they are there on the Mayor’s behalf.

It is tradition at Bracknell Forest for the Deputy Mayor to be elected Mayor.

The Deputy Mayor may be invited to a function in their own right, but usually this only happens if they have a connection to the organisation or the event and has been approved by the Mayor.

It is more likely that they would be invited in their capacity as local Councillor.