Lord Mayor: ‘The pandemic has brought us together and we can build on that’
FIRST CITIZEN: Councillor Steve Wilson, the Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Kingston upon Hull and Admiral of the Humber. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography
A global pandemic and the weight of convention could not keep Steve Wilson from the community he serves, or from reforming one of Hull’s most historic civic roles. In this exclusive interview, Simon Bristow speaks to one of the most popular and accessible mayors of our times
A renewed sense of community, a life-changing trip to Sierra Leone, and the modernising of an ancient role are among the abiding memories and achievements of the 107th Lord Mayor of Kingston upon Hull.
Councillor Steve Wilson will hand over the chains of office next month after a longer than expected tenure as Hull’s first citizen.
It is a post to which elected members of the city council are chosen according to precedent and seniority, and is often the pinnacle of their time in public life.
It has been this mayor’s lot to be in office during the worst public health crisis for 100 years, during which some of the very things the incumbent is expected to do – attend meetings, presentations and social events – were for a time prohibited.
There has been more acute sadness too. Coun Wilson’s predecessor as mayor, Coun Pete Allen, died earlier this month after a long illness.
His illness led to Coun Wilson, as Deputy Mayor, stepping into the breach to cover about seven months of Coun Allen’s mayoralty. Coun Wilson then had his own tenure extended by six months because of coronavirus.
It has been a busy and eventful mayoralty. When he finally does hand over to Deputy Lord Mayor Lynn Petrini, Coun Wilson will have attended more than 380 civic functions since becoming mayor.
“This summer I was opening things for the third time,” the mayor said, as he patiently posed for photographs to accompany this interview.
That he has lost none of the energy or enthusiasm that has characterised his time in office is remarkable given that he has continued to work full-time in a hostel – he’s the deputy general manager of Hull Resettlement Project – as well as undertaking his duties as a ward councillor.
He is quick to praise the help of his University ward colleague, Coun Gwen Lunn. “You can only do this if you’ve got good support,” he said.
The first real lockdown casualty of his mayoralty was a series of big events planned for April 26 to commemorate the Falklands War.
“We were going to have a large ship coming into port, and fly-pasts, and the top brass of the Royal Navy coming, and that was cancelled,” he said.
“I’ve always had a brilliant relationship with veterans and they said ‘We can’t let this go’, so we had to make a decision and we said we can do video opening of events. It grew organically.”
WARM WELCOME: The mayor on his ‘life-changing’ trip to Sierra Leone
An even bigger occasion was looming in the diary – the 75th anniversary of VE Day. The mayor was determined to play an active role in the events that were quickly being organised for May 8.
But with the country still in full lockdown, and households not allowed to mix, there was unease among some in authority about what may transpire; and pressure on the mayor to keep his distance.
That he chose to honour his commitments, and found a way to make it happen despite the difficulties, resonated with the public and was also true to the spirit of what was being remembered. It was one of the defining moments of his mayoralty.
“I’d said ‘If you have a street party I’ll come and visit you’, and there were dozens,” he said. “The director of public health said you can’t do it, the police didn’t want me to do it, the chief executive [of the council] didn’t want me to do it.
“When I said I was, I was given guidelines by the director of public health. I said to Derek [Clark] the Beadle [mayor’s assistant] ‘I can’t travel in the same car so I’ll follow you’.
“We had the most spectacular day. We went to about 14 street parties and didn’t finish until seven o’clock. It was fantastic. I didn’t just go to the street; I went to every house. I was holding people up saying ‘We’re going to be about two hours late’.
“It had this great spirit. People needed that. I got a lot of beautiful letters after that.”
There was a similar feel to Armed Forces Day. The mayor said: “A lot of members were shielding because of age so I had to visit them in their homes. There were tears that day. People just loved the idea. Veterans are so determined to remember everything.”
The mayor said people’s response to the pandemic had engendered a new community spirit, and gave the example of Sarah Laidlaw, who helped organise a scarecrow hunt in Anlaby Common.
REFLECTIVE: Councillor Steve Wilson has been one of the longest-serving Lord Mayors of Hull. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography
He said: “A new breed of community person has come along since Covid. They were clapping [for NHS staff and key workers] on Thursday nights, there was a bit of banter, and then they said ‘Let’s have a collection’.
“They started off on VE Day with about 50 people, and then they were doing a scarecrow hunt across west Hull involving about 400 people from her community. It all came about from Thursday night clapping and the need to be together.
“I spoke to a woman who had lived in the same house for 50 years and she spent two months making decorations for her garden. She said she felt wonderful being part of the community. I think as a councillor you need to galvanize that and make sure it doesn’t fall away.”
It was wanting to recognise people making a difference that led to him launching the Lord Mayor’s Civic Crown Awards.
“They’re for the people I’ve met who’ve done great things,” he said. “They need to be recognised. They are people I’ve come across at events; some have been nominated by others.
“They are people who have promoted Hull, who have done good work, people who have been helping Lord Mayor’s charities for 35 years.”
They also include people who have done well in business and put something back into the community. Of these, the mayor said: “I give them the mic to tell their story and they start to get a bit emotional.”
Special coins have been made for the 120 recipients, with presentations still ongoing.
They have been eclectic gatherings. One included boxer Tommy Coyle; Max Clark, a young boy who lost his leg in an accident; and Regina Sparkles, a “seven-foot drag queen”. The mayor said: “I saw those three talking to each other and thought ‘This is what it’s about’. Another person who got an award said ‘I know everyone in this room.”
SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: Being given the Keys to Freetown by Mayor Yvonne Aki Sawyer
Asked to pick his personal highlights from his time in office, he said: “Sierra Leone was pretty incredible. The reception we got was amazing. They are life-changing memories.”
The mayor and his consort, Karl Hudder, were among a party that travelled to the capital Freetown in June to mark the 40th anniversary of the civic partnership, or twinning, between the two cities.
He was the first Lord Mayor of Hull to visit Freetown for ten years.
“I go on holiday every year but I’m not especially well travelled outside Europe,” the mayor said. “It was a culture shock. I just saw such an amazing, vibrant community. The average age is 20 and everyone is trying to make a living and make a go of it.”
As well as meeting his Freetown counterpart – Mayor Yvonne Aki Sawyer – he also met the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, and was presented with the keys to Freetown.
The mayor said his Freetown counterpart had “an amazing team around her” and was trying to transform “every aspect of the municipality”. This includes the award of grants to communities who have improved the area where they live.
On a visit to one community, there were “three or four thousand people outside singing for us on a hillside. Incredible”. They had got 250 metres of road made from recycled plastic.
He also kicked off a football match between Freetown and Hull City – the latter formed in Freetown by soldiers during the Second World War and still going strong. “Then they handed me a mic and I had to sing the national anthem,” he said, adding: “Hull City lost, by the way.”
On his return to Hull the mayor wrote to the owners of the original Hull City asking for kit, which was duly supplied and shipped to Freetown.
SPLENDOUR: Being interviewed by The Hull Story in the Lord Mayor’s Consort’s Parlour. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography
The mayor said one of his other highlights was “opening Pride for the second time to over 15,000 people and introducing my husband and granddaughter on stage – that was pretty moving.”
Coun Wilson is the first Lord Mayor of Hull to be in a same sex marriage, and his husband, Karl Hudder, is his official consort. Mr Hudder has thrown himself into his role with the same gusto as the mayor, and has been a big help as an organiser behind the scenes.
“Karl is just the most amazing man I’ve ever met,” the mayor said. “He’s been a brilliant consort. He just loved the whole thing. We’ve put on some shows the Guildhall will never see again; so high camp. Taking him out with me has almost been like Prince Charles and Diana – they all want to meet Karl because they love him.”
This mayor has also been a reformer, in small but not insignificant ways.
The plush, wood-panelled room in which we sit, where the Queen is received on her visits to Hull, used to have a sign on the door saying “Lady Mayoress’s Parlour”. This has now been changed to “Lord Mayor’s Consort’s Parlour”.
Change comes gradually to such an historic role. The first Mayor of Hull was William de la Pole in 1332. King George V granted Hull the right to have a Lord Mayor in 1914.
MEETING THE PRESIDENT: The President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, seated between the mayors of Freetown and Hull. Back row, from left, the Lord Mayor’s Beadle, Derek Clark; Trish Dalby, vice-chair of the Freetown Society; and Karl Hudder, the Lord Mayor’s Consort
But unlike the directly elected “metro mayors” of places like Manchester and Liverpool, being Lord Mayor of Hull is not a political role.
Asked about comments by the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, this summer; that refugees were welcome in his city but not Nigel Farage, Hull’s mayor said only “What a great statement”.
He has had to explain to some why he cannot be more vocal. He said: “People ask ‘Why aren’t you speaking out about this’? I say ‘I’m a ceremonial, civic mayor. Look at my councillor page and you will know where I am on politics.”
Nowhere is the mayor’s duty and commitment to being apolitical more closely scrutinised than in the council chamber, where he chairs meetings.
“It’s the one thing I lose sleep over,” he said. “Any mayor will tell you that’s the toughest part of the job. There was one budget meeting that was eight hours long, and it’s tense because there’s so much at stake.
“But the Lib Dems have thanked me for my non-partisanship. If I feel the Labour group is out of order I will tell them.” [Coun Wilson is a Labour member].
The mayor said he will miss the role but was “looking forward to getting our weekends back”. He added: “I was glad of the extension because it gave me time to finish what I started. I feel we’ve done a really good job.”
Asked what advice he would give those who follow, he said: “One thing is don’t take ‘No’ for an answer. If you’ve got an idea, push it and go for it. I was often told ‘We’ve never done that before’. That’s not a reason not to do it.”
Coun Wilson will hand over to his deputy at the next council meeting on November 19. “Lynn will be great,” he said. “I can’t think of anyone better to follow me.”