Portsmouth welcomes Abdul Kadir as 100th Lord Mayor

Portsmouth’s Abdul Kadir said he was “immensely proud” after becoming the city’s 100th Lord Mayor at a busy Guildhall ceremony.

At the annual Portsmouth City Council mayor making ceremony, a packed Guildhall auditorium welcomed Councillor Kadir while paying tribute to Councillor Gerald Vernon Jackson’s tenure in the role over the past year.

Councillor Vernon Jackson has served as a Portsmouth councillor since first being elected in 2003 and spent a total of 15 years as leader of the council before stepping down in May 2023.

A Lord Mayor’s responsibilities include chairing full council meetings, as well as attending hundreds of engagements, events and fundraisers.

In his outgoing speech, Councillor Vernon Jackson said it had been “really interesting” meeting different groups across the city during his mayoralty.

He described Portsmouth as a city with a “great richness” of character, made up of communities that show “heartfelt care” for others while “not shy of letting people know what they think”.

He recounted introducing the tradition of the Royal Navy presenting the Sword of Portsmouth to the newly elected Lord Mayor, alongside the Army, which presents the key to the city.

Referencing mayoral traditions elsewhere, he noted that in High Wycombe the Lord Mayor is weighed before and after their term so they “don’t get corrupted by eating too many large dinners”.

He joked that he lost around a stone and a half during his own term because, when he was council leader, “I probably cut the lord mayor’s budget too much”.

During his year in office, the Lord Mayor raised around £47,000, with grants distributed to 78 charities, including 20 food banks and pantries across the city.

Despite the successes, he admitted “not everything worked as well as I’d like”, adding that he had hoped to do more to ensure the “wishes of residents are heard more in the final weeks of their lives”.

He said this ambition had become particularly difficult following the death of his husband, John Jarvis, 18 months ago.

“One of the tough parts of this job is doing this without him,” he added.

He also thanked his Lady Mayoresses, Dianna Carruthers, Leila Ferguson and Helena Coles, for their support.

“Can you believe it? I needed to have three to keep me in order.”

Offering a vote of thanks to the outgoing Lord Mayor, Councillor Charlotte Gerada recalled a visit from the Mayor of Valletta, Malta, Olaf McKay, who mistakenly assumed the three Lady Mayoresses were the Lord Mayor’s wives.

Councillor Gerada had to explain to the Maltese representative that having three wives is not customary for British Lord Mayors and that “this particular Lord Mayor doesn’t have a preference for women”, despite having “a harem of Lady Mayoresses around him”.

She also paid tribute to John, who she said “has been spiritually” by Gerald’s side, “probably laughing, judging and making light in all of the many situations the Lord Mayor has found himself in”.

Gerald added that while John was “the love of my life”, he did once have a brief phase with women, and “one of them became a nun”.

Nominating the new Lord Mayor, Councillor Steve Pitt, leader of the council, said he first met Councillor Kadir when he invited him to a badminton competition seven years ago, where he saw his “obvious passion for the community”.

“This led, with a bit of gentle persuasion from me, to him standing for public office in Baffins ward.

“Kadir is a real champion of our city. He’s lived here for over 40 years since arriving from our sister city of Sylhet in Bangladesh.”

Having served as Deputy Lord Mayor over the previous year, Councillor Pitt said Councillor Kadir had used the role to “deepen his understanding of all of our communities” and had become “widely respected”.

In his maiden speech as Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Abdul Kadir said it was a “great honour and privilege” to serve the city.

“To be elected as the 100th lord mayor of this city, especially in this anniversary year, is an honour that is too great to put into words. I’m immensely proud to take on this role in this significant moment in our city’s history.”

He said he was “proud” to call Portsmouth his home, a city that welcomed him and allowed him and his family to succeed.

He said that Portsmouth is “not only defined by it’s rich heritage but by its people’s diverse resilience and community spirit”.

He gave his gratitude to the people of Baffins, where he has lived for 30 years, for re-electing him in the recent local elections.

He said he hopes to use his mayoralty to “Champion the things that makes Portsmouth so special, our strong communities, our vibrant culture, and the way we come together to support each other in a world that can feel increasingly divided.”

“It’s is more important than ever that we focus on unity, understanding and respect.”

He said he looked forward to working with councillors, residents and partners in and out of the city to “continue strengthening the sense of community that makes each of us call this great city home”.

The council leader also nominated Councillor Suzy Horton as Deputy Lord Mayor, applauding her for championing young people as the former cabinet member for children, families and education.

He said her “huge commitment to the job is an exemplary if what public service really means.”

Councillor Horton said “its was a massive honour” to accept the role despite not believing it was a real opportunity “until it actually went through”.

Her deputy Lady Mayoress is her best friend from school, Jo McDougall, and she said she would like to encourage a theme of friendship as it is “so important” to communities while supporting “as many charities as possible”.

Councillor Horton has deep roots in the city as the sixth generation of her family to call Portsmouth home.