Agenda item

Resolved Unanimously:- That, This Court wishes to convey to,

Alderman Nicholas Stephen Leland Lyons

its warmest thanks for the exemplary manner in which he has carried out the role of Lord Mayor of this City. Nicholas’ Mayoralty came immediately after his year as Sheriff and the Court of Aldermen take the greatest of pleasure in having this opportunity to acknowledge the sheer energy and commitment that this requires as well as the fact that the Lord Mayor has, at all times, performed the duties of this office with dignity, enthusiasm and great skill.

Throughout Nicholas’ year, he has rigorously championed his Mayoral Theme, Financing our Future promoting a resilient, resourceful and responsible city, deploying capital and expertise to supercharge economic growth nationwide and grow our global competitiveness. This has been at the centre of his year and has encompassed a great range of initiatives.  Particular mention must be made of the Mansion House Compact where, having worked closely with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nicholas was able to convene at the Mansion House nine major U.K. companies who committed to a key target which, once achieved, will unlock over £50 billion of capital by 2030, in turn helping high-growth U.K. companies in fintech, life sciences, biotech and clean energy to scale-up domestically – an incredible and far-reaching accomplishment.

Nicholas has served as the City of London’s 694^th Lord Mayor. Fortunately, his Mayoral year has been the first of many to be untouched by any travel restrictions and he has certainly capitalised on this in his extensive travels both home and abroad to destinations such as the US, China, India, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Gulf. These visits have enabled him to meet with an enormous range of people and, in doing so, to fly the flag for UK financial and professional services and to further the City’s cause.

Nicholas has also worked tirelessly here at home, successfully promoting and strengthening the City’s relationship with cities and economic centres outside of London. In April, the Lord Mayor demonstrated his passion for inclusion by hosting a Financial Literacy and Inclusion Summit, bringing together speakers and panellists, including the Minister for Financial Inclusion, from across financial services, education and the charitable sector. As a result, he established a Financial Literacy and Inclusion Steering Group of leaders and experts to help the 13 million people in the U.K. who have been identified with low financial resilience. Following this, in May, the Lord Mayor hosted the City’s Net Zero Delivery Summit, attended in person by 200 leaders in climate finance and with a further 2,600 participants taking part virtually. I hope that these key, significant occasions both at home and further afield will have left Nicholas with many cherished memories and a rightful sense of pride.

You might think that there are not many opportunities to do things that are truly unique being the latest in the long line of almost 700 hundred Lord Mayors but Nicholas’ has been another Mayoralty undoubtedly touched by history. He had the great honour of being the first Lord Mayor in over 70 years to take part in a Coronation where he was called upon to play an important part, attired in the Lord Mayor’s Coronation robes and carrying the historic Crystal Sceptre as he proudly represented the City once more on the world’s stage. More recently, Nicholas was the first Lord Mayor to host His Majesty King Charles III at Mansion House.

During this very busy year, Nicholas has been fortunate to receive unending support in all endeavours from the Lady Mayoress, Felicity, whose efforts helped to ensure that the Lord Mayor’s year was a real success. As the Mayoral year draws to a close, the Court of Aldermen unite in thanking Nicholas for all that he has done as Lord Mayor of the City of London and send to him, Felicity, and their wider family, their very best wishes for their future good health and happiness.