20 October 2008
House of Lords, London
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Jack Straw has spoken at a ceremony in the House of Lords to approve the appointment of the new Lord Mayor of the City of London.
[Check against delivery: this is the prepared text of the speech, and may differ from the delivered version.]
The Right Honourable Jack Straw MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice:
My Lord Mayor Elect, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to convey Her Majesty's approval of the choice of the Citizens of London, in electing you to be the Lord Mayor for the coming year.
It is a great pleasure for me to be able to welcome you Mr Alderman Luder, Mrs Luder, and your other guests, to the House of Lords today in order to convey to you this message, and to be first to congratulate you on your receiving Her Majesty's approval.
May I also welcome you, Mr Recorder, once again to the House of Lords. We are delighted to see you here and to have the pleasure of listening to a most eloquent speech.
My Lord Mayor Elect, the Recorder has summarised your distinguished career, now culminating in this most ancient and honourable of offices.
You have served your profession at the highest levels, specialising in the taxation of professional partnerships and charities, holding partnerships in a number of firms of accountants and gaining Fellowship of both the Chartered Institute of Taxation and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
My Lord Mayor Elect, despite these commitments your life has borne out the proverb that 'the busiest men have the most leisure'. As the Learned Recorder has reminded us, you have undertaken much voluntary and charitable work. You have given your advice and expertise to bodies as various as the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Veterinary College. And you have served your City well - as a Common Councilman in the City of London, as member and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Corporation of London, and as an Alderman of the City of London.
It is to your credit that you have found time in your busy life to devote your surplus energies in this way, and much to the gain of the City of London and the organisations with which you are associated.
I wish you well with raising money for the beneficiaries of your chosen appeal, the First Cardiac Responder Programme of St. John Ambulance and the Lord's Taverners.
You begin your term of office at a time when the City of London faces one of the most challenging periods of modern history, and I need hardly emphasise how important and responsible is your role in leading the City over the coming year. Despite all of your positions and achievements to date, this year may well prove the busiest yet for you, for Mrs Luder and your family.
But I am confident that you will rise to meet its challenges with the same relish and sure handling that has characterised the course of your career. Your experience - as well as Mrs Luder's able partnership - will be a great asset in the year ahead. And I have every confidence that the City, which has shown resilience in the face of fire, flood, bombs, war and plague, will cope equally well with the present troubles of which we hear so much.
I am sure that you will also find your term absorbing, enjoyable and rewarding. I am told that the office of Lord Mayor is in at least its eight hundred and twentieth year, being first mentioned in 1189. We are both the present holders of ancient offices in a long line of succession - offices with great histories and confident futures. You will, I am sure, hold yours with distinction.
May I offer you and your family my warmest congratulations once again and my very best wishes for the year ahead.