Brent Charlesworth (born 22 July 1942) is a British local councillor who has served as

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

and

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of Nottingham, and later as Mayor of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Biography

Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

on the 22nd of July, 1942 to Ronald and Sarah Charlesworth, Brent grew up on the

Shirecliffe Shirecliffe is a suburb of the City of Sheffield. It lies three kilometres north of the city centre, it is now a residential neighbourhood consisting mostly of public housing. In the past it was a rural area made up of farmland and scattered s ...

estate in Sheffield. His father worked 45 years in the steelworks in

Templeborough Templeborough (historically Templebrough) is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The area takes its name from the remains of the ...

(Rotherham) until the steel industry was wiped out during the

Thatcher years Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 4 May 1979 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding James Callaghan of the Labour Party, and ended on 28 November 199 ...

. Educated at Nether Edge (which became) Abbeydale Boys’ Grammar School, he trained as a teacher in Birmingham and taught in that city in the 1960s. Later he studied for a BA at the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

, subsequently becoming a part-time university tutor. He also studied at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

for a higher degree. He moved to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

in 1971, becoming a Lecturer in Education at the former Trent Polytechnic (now

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

). He became Senior Lecturer in the Social Studies Department, working on the Clifton Campus from 1976 until taking early retirement some 25 years later.

Political career

In 1983 he was elected to

Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Nottingham, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. Nottingham has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous ...

as Labour member for the Clifton West ward. After boundary changes abolished the Clifton West ward in 2003, when the City Council became a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, he was elected member for the newly created Clifton South ward. As a Nottingham City councillor, he held various positions of responsibility, latterly Vice-Chair of the Notts/Nottingham Fire and Rescue Service. Around 2000, he served as Chair of Governors for Whitegate Primary and Nursery School in Nottingham. He served as the

Lord Mayor of Nottingham The Lord Mayor of Nottingham is a largely ceremonial role for the city of Nottingham, England. The position was historically Mayor of Nottingham; this was changed to Lord Mayor in 1928. The position is elected every May by Nottingham city coun ...

in 2003/04, and was

Sheriff of Nottingham The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, ...

for two years from 1991. Whilst serving the latter civic office, he travelled to the United States to present Hollywood actor

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

with an award recognising the achievements of the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, in which Costner played the lead role and, when he was Lord Mayor, opened the

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

campus of the University of Nottingham in China. He stood down from Nottingham City Council in May 2007, moved to

, ostensibly to retire, but was subsequently voted in as councillor for Park Ward on Lincoln City Council. When Labour recovered power in Lincoln in 2011, he was appointed Executive Portfolio Holder for Social Inclusion and Community Cohesion, a post he held until taking civic office on 3 June 2014 as the 808th Mayor of Lincoln. In this role, he signed a twinning agreement with the city of

Nanchang Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strate ...

, China at the Lincoln Guildhall. He chose his Park Ward councillor colleague David Jackson as his Sheriff. His term came to an end on 19 May 2015. He has described himself as a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, and expressed opposition to

identity politics Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as ethnicity, Race (human categorization), race, nationality, religion, Religious denomination, denomination, gender, sexual orientation, Socioeconomic status, social background ...

Personal life

He has one son, Daniel, who graduated in Psychology from the University of Lincoln. He currently lives in Lincoln. Originally a

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

supporter, he attends every Imps (

Lincoln City FC Lincoln City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed the "Imps" after the legend of ...

) home match.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110831062407/http://tmf.lincoln.gov.uk/CouncillorDetail.asp/?sec_id=2771&id=235 - Councillor Brent Charlesworth's page at Lincoln City Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlesworth, Brent Nottingham City Councillors Mayors of places in Nottinghamshire Academics of Nottingham Trent University 1942 births Living people Sheriffs of Nottingham Lord mayors of Nottingham Politicians from Sheffield