the.com/lord mayor
A mayor with a costume budget and zero actual power to fix your roads.
means The ceremonial head of certain cities (notably London's historic core), who presides over pageantry, tradition, and civic ribbon-cutting while real governance happens elsewhere.
from From Old English 'lord' (bread-keeper, master) plus 'mayor,' itself from Latin 'maior' meaning 'greater' — the comparative of 'magnus,' great. The title piled 'lord' onto 'mayor' to mark out certain mayors, especially London's, as senior and ceremonially grander than ordinary town mayors, a distinction rooted in medieval civic pride rather than any real jump in power.
- ceremonial only
- Real city governance happens elsewhere, mostly ignored
- london's version
- Rules the tiny Square Mile, not all London
- the chain
- Wears gold chain of office worth millions
- one year term
- Mostly spent attending dinners and ringing bells