The mayor of Wrexham is the civic figurehead and first citizen of the city of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, and

Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to ...

in the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The position is elected by members of

Wrexham County Borough Council Wrexham County Borough Council () is the governing body for Wrexham County Borough, a principal area with city status in north Wales, covering Wrexham and the surrounding area. History Wrexham County Borough Council was created in 1996 under the ...

at their annual meeting, and today, holders of the position mainly serve a one-year term. The position is currently held by Councillor Tina Mannering of Gwersyllt for the 2025/2026 term.

Background

Before the establishment of the position in 1857, the then town of Wrexham was largely administered by the manorial courts of the

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

and parish

Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

. The manorial courts became overwhelmed with the increasing local government responsibilities placed on them, with the Vestry increasingly adding secular matters to their originally religious operations to compensate the manorial courts. By 1848, concerns over the system of various local government in managing the growing town's sanitary conditions, in particular the public health threat of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, led to locals launching a petition to the Privy Council in February 1857 for the town to be incorporated. On 23 September 1857, the town was granted a Charter of Incorporation, spanning the two

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

s of the town, Wrexham Abbot and Wrexham Regis, as well as part of Esclusham Below. This charter lead to the forming of the borough of Wrexham, with a borough council (a

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

) and a position of mayor under the terms of the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...

. The position of mayor of the borough of Wrexham was first occupied by Thomas Edgworth. In 1974, the post of Mayor of Wrexham Borough Council, was superseded by Mayor of Wrexham Maelor Borough Council within

Clwyd Clwyd ( , ) is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English cerem ...

. Clwyd itself was abolished in 1996, following the enactment of the

Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...

, with the position transferred to the newly established Wrexham County Borough Council, the council of the newly formed Wrexham County Borough. The mayor wears the "Mayor's Chain", dating to 1872. There are equivalent chains for the Mayoress, Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayoress. A

Ceremonial mace A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a Head of state, sovereign or other high officials in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, der ...

is carried in front of the mayor in civic proceedings, and dates back to 1866. Wrexham became a city in September 2022.

Appointment

The Mayor of Wrexham, as well as the Deputy Mayor of Wrexham, is elected by members of Wrexham County Borough Council at their annual meeting. Presently, the position is usually held for one year for the appointed councillor, although past mayors have held the post for more than two years.

Role

The mayor is the First Citizen of Wrexham County Borough and a figurehead for the council. Their position is to represent the entire county borough, acting as a link between the council and citizens, and symbolically represent continuity, an open society (by elected irrespective of class, gender, or ethnicity), and a figure in times of crisis, tragedy or triumph. Administratively, the mayor presides over council meetings and at civic functions, and acts as a

tiebreaker In games and sport, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is any method used to determine a winner or to rank participants when there is a tie - meaning two or more parties have achieved a same score or result. A tiebreaker provides the additional criterion ...

in the event of equal votes in the council. They have precedence at any function within the county borough, including over government ministers, MPs and MSs, but except in the presence of the

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

, or the Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd. During their one-year term, the mayor is expected to contribute to five formal civic events through the year. The five events being; the council's annual meeting, civic visit to Church,

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

Reunion Weekend, a charity ball, and the annual remembrance service. Outside these more formal events, the mayor is expected to be attending 400 other engagements. Each mayor nominates a charity or charities to receive funds that have been fundraised during their term. The mayor may also request donations to other causes.

Heraldry

The Wrexham County Borough

Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is inherited from Wrexham Maelor, which is itself derived from the two authorities preceding Wrexham Maelor, the borough of Wrexham and Wrexham Rural District.

List of mayors

The current mayor for the 2025/2026 term is Councillor Tina Mannering of Gwersyllt East since 21 May 2025, with Jeremy Kent of Gresford East/West as deputy. Previous deputy mayors are usually promoted to mayor the following year by convention in Wrexham, however the 2022/2023 deputy mayor was suspended and withdrew their candidacy to serve as mayor for the following term. A list of the mayors of Wrexham County Borough Council and its predecessor councils is present on th
council's website

References