Labour councillor named as lord mayor
LONGSERVING Labour councillor Chaman Lal has been named as Birmingham’s next lord mayor.
He saw off a challenge from other candidates Narinder Kooner and Mohammed Idress.
Cllr Lal will replace the current lord mayor Maureen Cornish and will be officially sworn in after the May local elections.
Cllr Lal has served on Birmingham City Council since 1994 and represents the Soho & Jewellery Quarter ward alongside Cllr Sybil Spence.
The son of a British Indian army officer who served in Italy during the Second World War, Cllr Lal’s uncle was also a British Indian army officer who was killed in the Burma campaign.
He will be the first British Indian lord mayor of Birmingham, with his father being of Sikh heritage, and his mother being raised in a Muslim village in India.
Councillor Lal said: “It is the privilege of a lifetime to have been elected by my colleagues. When I was first elected to Birmingham City Council back in 1994, I did not think that I would one day be chosen to be the first citizen for the largest council in Europe.
“I am greatly looking forward to my term as lord mayor, representing this wonderful city and the people and communities who make it such a brilliant place to live.
“I will be a tireless ambassador for the people and communities of Birmingham, and I will work to encourage inward investment and tourism in Birmingham, helping to bring prosperity to the city and its residents.
“As lord mayor, I will support charities across Birmingham that do so much to support the people of the city, especially during these challenging economic times.”
Cllr Lal’s appointment will make him the city’s 113th lord mayor.