Mark Meredith

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Mark Joseph Meredith

Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Mike Wolfe

Born	August 21, 1965 (1965-08-21) (age 42) Stoke-on-Trent
Political party	Labour
Website	www.stoke.gov.uk

Mark Joseph Meredith (born 21 August 1965, Pyenest Street, Shelton in Stoke-on-Trent) is the directly-elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent in England. He was elected on 5 May 2005, for the Labour Party, and defeated incumbent independent Mike Wolfe.

A member of the Labour Party since 1982, Meredith held posts at various levels of the Labour Party but has never held nor sought public office before. A local businessman in the Stoke-on-Trent town of Hanley since 1992, he was selected as the Labour candidate in December 2004, defeating four others to win the Labour nomination.

In the mayoral election of 5 May 2005, Meredith polled ahead of the Conservative candidate Roger Ibbs in second place, Mike Wolfe (independent), a BNP candidate and three other non-aligned independents.

An openly gay man, he has not sought to make his sexuality a prominent feature of his public profile, preferring to focus on 'bread and butter' and 'quality of life' issues, such as City Regeneration and tackling problems of anti-social behaviour, litter, and graffiti around the City.

Since his election, he has concentrated much of his efforts to bringing the City Council's long-term financial deficits under control.

In July 2007, Mark Meredith formed a de-facto executive model for Stoke-on-Trent City Council of Mayor and Cabinet in all but name. This first move away from the Mayor and Council Manager model (the only one of its kind in England) was generally welcomed by most political groups represented on the Council.

Subsequently, the Council Executive now has representation in its number from all three main political parties, Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem. Although still in possession of a Mayoral veto, Meredith appears to have set up a unique political arrangement in local government in England.