The contest to elect the next Lord Mayor of the City of London has been reshaped by a surprise withdrawal, with the Court of Aldermen agreeing to support Alderman Bronek Masojada for the 2026/27 mayoralty — a year earlier than originally planned.
Alderman Tim Hailes has withdrawn from consideration for the office, the City of London Corporation announced on Saturday 27 September. In a brief statement, the Corporation said Mr Hailes had notified the Court of Aldermen of his decision, adding that the Court had decided Mr Masojada — previously the candidate for 2027/28 — would be supported for election in 2026/27 instead.
No reason was given for Mr Hailes’s withdrawal. The Corporation said the change of candidate formed part of its established succession planning for the Mayoralty, and stressed that arrangements for the election would continue as planned.
The Court of Aldermen is one of the City’s most senior bodies, made up of the 25 aldermen who each represent one of the Square Mile’s wards. It works alongside the Court of Common Council in governing the City, and plays a central role in mayoral succession.
The election will take place at Common Hall in Guildhall on Tuesday 29 September, when liverymen of the City’s livery companies will vote for the next Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor elect will then be formally admitted into office on 13 November 2026.
Key facts
- What: election of the Lord Mayor of the City of London for 2026/27
- Standing aside: Alderman Tim Hailes FKC JP
- New candidate: Alderman Bronek Masojada, brought forward from 2027/28
- Election: Common Hall, Guildhall — Tuesday 29 September 2026
- Takes office: 13 November 2026
An office nearly 850 years old
The Lord Mayor of the City of London leads one of the oldest continuously held civic offices in the world, with the role tracing its history back to 1189. The post is entirely separate from that of the Mayor of London: while the latter heads the Greater London Authority and is chosen by voters across the capital, the Lord Mayor heads the City of London Corporation — the local authority for the Square Mile — and serves as an international ambassador for Britain’s financial and professional services.
Each autumn the election is held at Common Hall, a centuries-old gathering at Guildhall at which liverymen — senior members of the City’s historic livery companies, the trade guilds that once regulated London’s crafts and trades — vote to choose the next Lord Mayor from among the aldermen. By long-standing custom the candidates are aldermen who have already served a year as Sheriff of the City.
The successful candidate serves a single one-year term. The new Lord Mayor is admitted to office in November at the Silent Ceremony — so called because, uniquely, it is conducted largely in silence — and takes up residence at Mansion House, the grand official residence opposite the Bank of England. The admission is followed the next day by the Lord Mayor’s Show, the spectacular annual procession through the City streets that dates back to the early 13th century.
During the year in office the Lord Mayor undertakes hundreds of engagements in the UK and overseas, championing the City as a global centre for finance, law, insurance and related services, and supporting the work of the Corporation across the Square Mile.
What happens next
With the candidate now settled, attention turns to the election itself. The key dates are as follows:
- Tuesday 29 September 2026 — Common Hall at Guildhall: liverymen elect the Lord Mayor for 2026/27.
- 13 November 2026 — the Lord Mayor elect is formally admitted to office at the Silent Ceremony.
- 14 November 2026 — the Lord Mayor’s Show: the new Lord Mayor processes through the City in the traditional annual parade.
The swift agreement on a replacement reflects the City’s established succession planning, designed to keep the mayoral timetable on track.
