Mayor

Mayor of Tamworth 2023/24 Deputy Mayor

Cllr John Harper

CllrDaniel Maycock

Councillor John Harper

Council Member for Bolehall Ward

Councillor Daniel Maycock

Council Member for Wilnecote Ward

Tamworth has a mayor and a deputy who are elected each year by councillors at the annual council meeting in May.

With a history dating back to 1835, the Tamworth mayoralty in its current form is steeped in history and the mayor making ceremony includes many traditions.

The mayor of Tamworth is the town’s first citizen and ambassador and represents the town at various events throughout the year. It is a ceremonial, politically impartial, role.

Inviting the mayor to events and functions

A key part of the mayoralty is to get out and about in Tamworth, meeting the charities, groups, businesses, schools and individuals who make the town such a great place to live.

If you’d like to invite the mayor to an event, please fill in this mayoral briefing form and email MayorsDiary-@tamworth.gov.uk. You can call 07583 557265 for more information.

Between them, the mayor and their deputy can attend hundreds of functions and are often very busy. Please give us as much notice as you can to invite them to an event – we need at least three weeks, but the more notice you can give, the higher the chance they will be able to attend.

The current mayor

The mayor for 2023/24 is John Harper.

John is a former journalist, history writer, musician, actor and club licensee who has lived and worked in Tamworth all his life. He is well-known locally for penning articles for the Tamworth Herald newspaper, including a weekly history column and a book called ‘Tamworth Past and Present’. He is the only Mayor of Tamworth to perform on stage at the world famous London Palladium!

He was elected to serve as a Bolehall councillor in 2021.

Born on September 26, 1958, John is married to Maureen and has three step-children and three step-grandchildren.

John left the Herald’s editorial department in 2007 but continued to write for the newspaper on a freelance basis. This enabled him and Maureen to manage bars at several Tamworth clubs.

Music has played a hugely important role in John’s life. He was taught bass guitar by an older cousin and made his first public appearances in 1968-69 with four-piece group Blue Pity. Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s he also appeared in many stage productions with Tamworth Little Theatre. From the late '70s to mid '90s John played either bass or rhythm guitar in local groups including Blue Eclipse and Split Decision. 

In 2004 John formed The Bootleg Shadows, performing around Britain and abroad. In 2012 he was invited to join ‘Bobby Socks and Blue Jeans’, a popular theatre production starring entertainer Kytsun Wolf. On October 14, 2014, John performed with the show at the world-famous London Palladium. From 2016-18 John played rhythm guitar with The Fugitives in ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Back The Years’, a 40-date theatre tour starring radio and TV broadcaster ‘Diddy’ David Hamilton.

For over 20 years John served on the Tamworth Conservation Area Advisory Committee, advising the borough council on planning applications. He was a founder member of Tamworth Heritage Trust and helped relaunch Tamworth and District Civic Society.

John passionately believes that imaginative promotion of Tamworth’s Anglo-Saxon history will encourage a sense of civic pride among young people as well as making the town a vibrant, attractive destination for tourists.

Over the years John has given many talks and featured on TV and radio, invariably speaking about his favourite subject - "this fantastic, brilliant old town of ours - Tamworth!"

You can read more about John’s election to mayor here, and you can also follow the Mayor of Tamworth on Facebook.

Chosen charities: This year’s mayor’s chosen charities are St Editha’s Church and Tamworth & District Civic Society.