List of mayors of Leeds

The Lord Mayor of Leeds (until 1897 known as the Mayor of Leeds) is a ceremonial post held by a member of Leeds City Council, elected annually by the council.

Lord Mayor of Leeds
Coat of arms of Leeds City Council
Incumbent Cllr Dan Cohen since 2025
Style	The Right Worshipful
Status	Lord Mayor
Member of	Leeds City Council
Term length	One municipal year ends in May 2026
Precursor	Mayor of Leeds (1661–1897)
Formation	12 July 1897
Website	Official website

By charter from King Charles I in 1626, the leader of the governing body of the borough of Leeds was an alderman, the first holder being Sir John Savile.^[1] A second charter, in 1661 from King Charles II, granted the title Mayor to Thomas Danby,^[1] after whom Thomas Danby College was named. In 1893 the County Borough of Leeds was granted city status, and in 1897 Queen Victoria conferred the title of Lord Mayor on James Kitson.

The first woman to have the post was Jessie Beatrice Kitson in 1942: she was elected following the death of Arthur Clarke shortly after his election.^[2][3]

In 2019, the council elected Leeds' first ever black Lord Mayor, Eileen Taylor.^[4] After serving as a Labour member of council since 2008, she was elected unanimously by fellow councillors at the authority's annual general meeting. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor's term was extended for another municipal year until May 2021, the first time a Lord Mayor has served for two municipal years since George Brett's original term of office (1947–48) was extended for a municipal year until 1949. Under the Representation of the People Act 1948, his term was extended until the first meeting held after the May 1949 council election.^[5][6]

Notable former Mayors include Benjamin Gott (1799), Sir George Goodman (1836), several of the Lupton family, Henry Rowland Marsden (1873) and Alf Cooke of the famous printworks (1890).

List of Lord Mayors

Source:^[7]

Municipal year	Mayor of Leeds
November 9, 1835		Griffith Wright
January 1, 1836		George Goodman
November 9, 1836		James Williamson, M.D.
1837		Thomas William Tottie
1838		James Holdfirth
1839		William Smith
1840		William Smith
1841		William Pawson
1842		Henry Cowper Marshall
1843		Hamer Stansfeld
1844		Darnton Lupton
1845		John Darnton Luccock
1846		C. G. Maclea
1847		Francis Carbutt
1848		John Hope Shaw
1849		Joseph Bateson
1850		George Goodman
1851		George Goodman

Source:^[8]

Municipal year	Mayor of Leeds
November 1865		Henry Oxley
November 1866		Andrew Fairbairn
November 1867		Andrew Fairbairn

Source:^[9]

Sir James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale, first Lord Mayor of Leeds, 1896–97^[10]

Robert Armitage, Lord Mayor of Leeds, 1904–1905.

William Middlebrook, Lord Mayor of Leeds, 1910–1911.

Edward Brotherton, 1st Baron Brotherton, Lord Mayor of Leeds, 1913–1914

Sir Charles Lupton, Lord Mayor of Leeds, 1915–1916

Sir Edwin Airey, Lord Mayor of Leeds, 1923–1924

Municipal year	Lord Mayor (party nomination - electoral ward if councillor)
1897-1898		Sir James Kitson, MP for Colne Valley, 1892 (Lib)
1898-1899		Thomas Walter Harding (LUP)
1899-1900		John Gordon (Con)
1900-1901		Frederick W. Lawson (?)
1901-1902		Ambrose Edmund Butler (?)
1902-1903		Sir John Ward[11] (?)
1903-1904		Arthur Currer Briggs (?)
1904-1905		Robert Armitage, MP for Leeds Central, 1906 (Lib)
1905-1906		Edwin Woodhouse (?)
1906-1907		Joseph Hepworth (?)
1907-1908		Wilfred Lawrence Hepton (?)
1908-1909		Frederick J Kitson (Lib)
1909-1910		William Penrose Green (Con)
1910-1911		William Middlebrook, MP for Leeds South, 1908 (Lib)
1911-1912		William Nicholson (?)
1912-1913		Albert Wellesley Bain (?)
1913-1914		Edward Brotherton, 1st Baron Brotherton (Con)
1914-1915		James Edward Bedford (?)
1915-1916		Sir Charles Lupton (Con)
1916-1917		Edmund George Arnold (Lib nominated)
1917-1918		Frank Gott (?)
1918-1919		Joseph Henry
1919-1920		Thomas Beveridge Duncan (?)
1920-1921		Albert Braithwaite (Con)
1921-1922		Willie Hodgson (?)
1922-1923		Frank Fountain (?)
1923-1924		Sir Edwin Airey (Con)
1924-1925		Charles Granville Gibson (?)
1925-1926		John Arnott (Lab)
1926-1927		Hugh Lupton (Con)
1927-1928		George Ratcliffe (Lib)
1928-1929		David Blythe Foster (Lab)
1929-1930		Nathaniel George Morrison (?)
1930-1931		Arthur Hawkyard (?)
1931-1932		Fred Simpson, MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, 1935 (Lab)
1932-1933		Robert Holliday Blackburn (Con)
1933-1934		Albert Edward Wilkinson (Lib)
1934-1935		William Hemingway (Lab)
1935-1936		Percival Tookey Leigh (?)
1936-1937		Tom Coombs (?)
1937-1938		John Badlay (Lab)
1938-1939		Rowland Winn (Con)
1939-1940		Charles Humphrey Boyle (Lib)
1940-1941		Willie Withey (?)
1941-1942		Hyman Morris (Con)
1942-1943		Arthur Clarke (Lib) died 9 November 1942[12]
		Jessie B Kitson (Ind, Lib nominated)[13]
1943-1944		Albert Hayes (?)
1944-1945		Charles Vivian Walker (?)
1945-1946		David Beevers (Labour)[14]
1946-1947		Sir George Martin (Con)
1947-1948		George Brett (Labour)
1948-1949
1949-1950		Norman Vine (?)
1950-1951		Francis Hugh O’Donnell (?)
1951-1952		Francis Eric Tetley (?)
1952-1953		Frank Barlow Burnley (?)
1953-1954		Donald George Cowling (?)
1954-1955		Henry Sidman Vick (?)
1955-1956		Sir James Croysdale (?)
1956-1957		Thomas Austin Jessop (?)
1957-1958		Joseph Hiley (?)
1958-1959		Mary Pearce (?)
1959-1960		Gertrude Annie Stevenson (?)
1960-1961		Lillian Hammond (?)
1961-1962		Percival Arthur Woorward (?)
1962-1963		Harold Watson (?)
1963-1964		Edwin Wooler (?)
1964-1965		Lizzie Naylor (?)
1965-1966		William R Hargreave (?)
1966-1967		Joshua "Jos" Walsh (Lab)
1967-1968		Lawrence Turnbull (?)
1968-1969		John Rafferty (?)
1969-1970		Allan Roberts Bretherick (?)
1970-1971		Arthur Brown (?)
1971-1972		John Trevor V Watson (?)
1972-1973		Albert Smith (Lab)
1973-1974		Kenneth Davison (Con)
1974-1975		Joan de Carteret (?)
1975-1976		Alan Pedley (Con, Headingley)
1976-1977		Ernest Howard Morris (Lab, City & Woodhouse)
1977-1978		William Hudson (Con, Aireborough)
1978-1979		Harry Booth (Lab, Beeston & Holbeck)
1979-1980		Christine Thomas (Con, Chapel Allerton & Scott Hall)
1980-1981		Eric Atkinson (Lab, Bramley)
1981-1982		Patrick "Paddy" Crotty (Con, Roundhay)
1982-1983		Doreen Jenner (Lab, University)
1983-1984		Martin Dodgson (Con, Halton)
1984-1985		Douglas Gabb (Lab, Seacroft)
1985-1986		Sydney Symmonds (Con, Moortown)
1986-1987		Rose Lund (Lab, Rothwell)
1987-1988		Doreen Wood (Con, Halton)
1988-1989		Arthur Vollans (Lab, Seacroft)
1989-1990		Leslie "Les" Carter (Con, Cookridge)
1990-1991		Bill Kilgallon (Lab, University)
1991-1992		Ronald "Ronnie" Feldman (Con, North)
1992-1993		Denise Atkinson (Lab, Bramley)
1993-1994		Keith Loudon (Con, Cookridge)
1994-1995		Christiana Myers (Lab, City & Holbeck)
1995-1996		Margaret "Peggy" White (Con, Roundhay)
1996-1997		Malcolm Bedford (Lab, Wortley)
1997-1998		Linda Middleton (Lab, Middleton)
1998-1999		Graham Kirkland (LD, Otley & Wharfedale)
1999-2000		Keith Parker (Lab, Barwick & Kippax)
2000-2001		Bernard Atha (Lab, Kirkstall)
2001-2002		David Hudson (Con, Wetherby)
2002-2003		Bryan North (Lab, Morley South)
2003-2004		Neil Taggart (Lab, Chapel Allerton)
2004-2005		Christopher "Chris" Townsley (LD, Horsforth)
2005-2006		William "Bill" Hyde (Con, Temple Newsam)
2006-2007		Mohammed Iqbal (Lab, City & Hunslet)
2007-2008		Brian Cleasby (LD, Horsforth)
2008-2009		Frank Robinson (Con, Calverley & Farsley)
2009-2010		Judith Elliott (MBI, Morley South)
2010-2011		James "Jim" McKenna (Lab, Armley)
2011-2012		Revd Alan Taylor (LD, Gipton & Harehills)
2012-2013		Ann Castle (Con, Harewood)
2013-2014		Thomas "Tom" Murray (Lab, Garforth & Swillington)
2014-2015		David Congreve (Lab, Beeston & Holbeck)
2015-2016		Judith Chapman (LD, Weetwood)
2016-2017		Gerald "Gerry" Harper (Lab, Hyde Park & Woodhouse)
2017-2018		Jane Dowson (Lab, Chapel Allerton)
2018-2019		Graham Latty (Con, Guiseley & Rawdon)
2019-2020		Eileen Taylor (Lab, Chapel Allerton)[a]
2020-2021
2021-2022		Asghar Khan (Lab, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill)
2022-2023		Robert "Bob" Gettings (MBI, Morley North)
2023-2024		Al Garthwaite (Lab, Headingley and Hyde Park)[16]
2024-2025		Abigail Marshall Katung (Lab, Little London and Woodhouse)
2025-2026		Dan Cohen (Con, Alwoodley)

Notes

1. Taylor's original one-year term (2019-2020) was extended for an extra municipal year following the COVID-19 pandemic and postponement of the council's Annual Council Meeting and Mayor Making ceremony of a new Lord Mayor for the 2020-2021 municipal year. It was the first time a Lord Mayor had served for two municipal years since George Brett's original term of office (1947-1948) was extended for a municipal year until 1949. Under the Representation of the People Act 1948, his term was extended until the first meeting held after the May 1949 council election.^[5][15]