The Lady Mayor and the Lord Mayor Elect with their Consorts
In the procession
Fanfare

Common Hall for the Election of the Lord Mayor

29th September 2026

Guildhall

This year’s Michaelmas Common Hall, held each year to elect the next Lord Mayor of the City of London, was thrown into some confusion by the sad withdrawal of Alderman Tim Hailes just 48 hours before the election.

Tim had been named by the Court of Aldermen as its preferred candidate for 2026/27 and had already been working closely with the Lady Mayor to develop his programme for his anticipated year ahead. Our own Past Master Fiona Adler was to have been his Consort.

But, as might be expected of an institution more than 800 years old, the civic wheel can turn remarkably quickly. The Court of Aldermen’s Nominations Committee met and agreed that its new preferred candidate should be Alderman Bronek Masojada, who had originally been expecting to be the preferred candidate for 2027/28.

And so a remarkably seamless transfer took place. By the time we entered Guildhall, the names had been shuffled and the Liverymen gathered in the Hall were presented with a new choice of excellent candidates on their voting papers.

Guildhall was completely full by the time we processed in, with an overflow room also in use for those who could not get into the Great Hall. The pageantry of Common Hall is always impressive, with a glorious display of robes, badges and chains, together with an extraordinary collection of civic treasures – maces, swords and all manner of ceremonial objects – carried by the various Beadles and members of the procession. Many also carry posies of fresh flowers, which add a lovely splash of colour to the occasion.

The Masters peel off into the front rows, while the Masters of the Great Twelve Livery Companies, together with the Livery Committee, civic representatives, members of the judiciary and the Mayoral party, take their places on the platform.

The Town Crier then announces that heads must be uncovered and that anyone who is not a Liveryman must leave the Hall – on pain of imprisonment. It is a wonderful reminder that, beneath all the ceremony and splendour, Common Hall has some very old rules!

The voting gets underway, with the platform party processing in and out between the various stages of the proceedings. Eventually, Alderman Bronek Masojada was announced as the successful candidate, with Alderman Alison Gowman as runner-up.

The speeches then began, including contributions from three lady Masters, two of whom confirmed and seconded the election of Bronek Masojada on behalf of the Livery, while the third delivered the vote of thanks to the Lady Mayor for an outstanding year in office.

And then, eventually, it was all over. We processed back out of Guildhall into the sunny Yard, where the solemnity of the proceedings gave way to the rather more relaxed business of greetings, congratulations and photographs.

It was also the moment when the two candidates for Non-Aldermanic Sheriff for 2027/28, Henry Pollard and Lars Andersen, were able to kick-start their election campaigns, gathering their supporters for the inevitable group photographs.

And then, robes and chains safely put away, we all dispersed to various Livery Halls for lunch, leaving Guildhall to recover from another colourful chapter in the City’s extraordinary and historic civic life.