Stuart Drummond

Stuart Drummond
Mayor of Hartlepool
In office
2 May 2002 – 2 May 2013
Preceded by Office Created
Succeeded by Office Abolished
Personal details
Born (1973-11-29) 29 November 1973
Political party Independent

Stuart Drummond (born 29 November 1973) was the first and only directly elected mayor of Hartlepool in North East England.[1] He was first elected in 2002, under the guise of H'Angus the Monkey, the town's football club's mascot, and was re-elected in 2005[2] and 2009. He was the first elected mayor in Britain to win a third term.[3] He stood down when his term ended in May 2013 after the people of Hartlepool voted to abolish the mayoral system on 15 November 2012.[4]

Biography

Drummond was born 29 November 1973. He gained an HND in business finance and languages at Salford University.[1] Before his election, he was the mascot – H'Angus the Monkey – for Hartlepool United F.C..[5]

Mayor of Hartlepool

Drummond stood for election to Mayor of the Borough of Hartlepool, a unitary authority in the north east of England, in the 2002 election. He was originally put up for election by the football club, as a publicity stunt for their mascot and the football club.[6] Drummond took part in no serious campaigning and his only promise was for the council to provide free bananas for school children. He was the only candidate absent from the various local forums and question and answers sessions held during the campaign. Unexpectedly Drummond was narrowly elected, beating the second place Labour Party candidate by 5,696 to 5,174.[7] The result was greeted with widespread hilarity, attracting attention far beyond Hartlepool. Canada's National Post newspaper ran the headline "Monkey wins mayoralty, regains human form".[8] Following his narrow win, a "furious" Peter Mandelson, who was MP for Hartlepool, forbade Drummond to wear the monkey suit again.[9]

After his election, Drummond stood down as mascot. Drummond failed to fulfil his commitment to ensure the council provide free bananas due to a shortage of funds, although he worked with Hartlepool Primary Care Trust to ensure fresh fruit was available in all schools.[10] Drummond is most commonly found at home matches where he has a regular spot in the Mill House Stand, although he does refuse to talk politics during the match. Drummond also writes a regular column in home match programmes for Hartlepool FC. On 5 May 2005, Drummond was re-elected as the mayor of Hartlepool with an increased majority of 10,205.[11] On 4 June 2009, Drummond was re-elected for a third term.[3]

A campaign group set up in 2006 hoped to petition for a referendum that would abolish the office of mayor and adopt the leader and cabinet system of local government leadership.[12] The referendum occurred on 15 November 2012, after the majority Labour group on Hartlepool council established a referendum which resulted in the council leader and cabinet system being favoured. The leader and cabinet system became the governance structure for the council in May 2013.[13]

Drummond in 2010 was a finalist for the World Mayor prize.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 Oliver Wright, Monkey business turns serious for Hartlepool. The Times. London (UK): May 4, 2002. pg. 13
  2. ↑ Sarah Weaver, Elected mayor stops the monkey business. The Times. London (UK): May 7, 2005. pg. 63
  3. 1 2 Hartlepool Mayor wins third term. BBC News, 5 June 2009
  4. ↑ The Guardian, 16 November 2012: Mayor H'Angus the Monkey finally loses his Hartlepool habitat
  5. ↑ "Labour slips on mayoral banana skin". London: Guardian. May 3, 2002. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  6. ↑ "In praise of … H'Angus the Monkey". London: Guardian. November 19, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Voters snub parties in mayor polls". BBC. 8 October 2002. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  8. ↑ National Post news services, "Monkey wins mayoralty, regains human form" (Toronto edition headline)/"Monkey mascot wins $121,800 job as mayor" (all but Toronto edition headline), National Post (Canada), 4 May 2002, archived online at FPinfomart.ca, $4.95 fee to view full article.
  9. ↑ "Take Five: Peter Barron - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldTheFrontPage. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  10. ↑ Peter Hetherington, Gorilla tactics. The Guardian, 27 April 2005
  11. ↑ "Winning 'monkey' mayor gains wife". BBC. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  12. ↑ Jill Sherman, Voters aim to throw out mayors they say are acting like dictators. The Times. London (UK): Sep 4, 2006. pg. 8
  13. ↑ Mulholland, Hélène (16 November 2012). "Mayor H'Angus the Monkey finally loses his Hartlepool habitat". The Guardian. London: 16 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  14. ↑ World Mayor: The 2010 finalists
Preceded by
New Creation		 Mayor of Hartlepool
2002 – 2013 		Succeeded by
Office Abolished
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