A new Mayor of Worcester has been voted in by members of Worcester City Council. Councillor Louis Stephen has taken over the chain of office from the outgoing Mayor, Cllr Adrian Gregson.
Cllr Mel Allcott is Worcester's new Deputy Mayor.
Cllr Stephen said: "The role of Mayor has existed for centuries, and it is a great honour to be named as the first Green Mayor of Worcester.
"My theme for my year in office is creating a community that values and includes our older citizens, and with that in mind I have chosen Age UK as my charity for the year.
"Age UK are an amazing charity that supports lonely and isolated older people in our community who, for whatever reason, have dropped through the cracks in our social services system.
"Among the standout things they do which I want to support are free energy assessment service where they visit a resident's home to support them in reducing their energy usage whilst keeping warm. They also help older residents tackle loneliness with opportunities to get out of the house to socialise with others."
A busy year of engagements awaits the new Mayor of Worcester and he is committed to getting to as many of them as possible using pedal-power.
The Mayor said: "I'm a keen cyclist and my bike is my main method of travel. There are clear societal benefits to using more active ways to travel like walking and cycling, and I think leaders have a role in breaking down barriers and changing social norms. There may be a few rare situations where we have to travel by car, but if the Mayor and Mayoress can arrive at an event on bikes I hope it will encourage others to do the same."
Louis Stephen grew up in Worcestershire and was educated in the city, and it was while he was on a school tip to Worcester Heat Systems, that his eyes were first opened to a career in engineering. He went on to study engineering at Loughborough University and management at Cranfield University.
Cllr Stephen had a successful career working in a range of engineering businesses, and rose through the ranks of Worcester Bosch to become a senior manager.
The Lady Mayoress is his wife of 35 years, Katey Stephen, a Worcester-born professional ecologist with a keen interest in botany. In her spare time, the Mayoress sings in Worcester's Choral Society and the Elgar Chorale. Louis and Katey have two now grown-up children, Alaric and Bryony.
Cllr Stephen was first elected to the Battenhall ward in 2016. He is the first Green Party Mayor of Worcester and can often be seen his bike cycling around the city.
