Vincy elected mayor in UK

22.JUN.07

Vincentian Norris Bullock was officially appointed as the new Mayor of Luton, a large town in the south east of England on May 30 at a special ceremony attended by councillors and VIPs.

In accepting this high profile and prestigious role Councillor Bullock said: “I strongly believe in equality, justice and freedom and vow to use my position as the first citizen of Luton to advocate this on behalf of those people whose voices are not always heard and to proudly and steadfastly represent our town.”{{more}}

Bullock was born in St Vincent and the Grenadines where he trained as a primary school teacher. He immigrated to the UK in 1964 and finally settled in High Wycombe where he met his wife, Joycelin, who will take on the role of Mayoress. They have been married for 39 years and have two sons.

Councillor Bullock’s work experience is extensive ranging from his first role in the country as a production buyer with Broom & Wade, the largest air compressor manufacturer in the UK, to machine operator and setter for SKF in Luton and then entering the social work profession in 1983 as a residential social worker at a local children’s home. He also worked as a Social Worker for the London Borough of Lambeth for 11 years before moving to Brent Council taking on the role of Approved Social Worker, specialising in mental health for six years. He returned to Luton seven years ago to work for a local charity and is still there today.

Over the last 28 years, he devoted thousands of hours of his spare time getting involved in a number of community and voluntary activities starting in 1979 when he actively took part in fundraising to support his fellow Vincentians when the volcano in St Vincent erupted. He then became a member of the Luton West Indian Community Association where they successfully set up the Mary Seacole Hostel. He was also the founder member and chair of the Luton St Vincent and the Grenadines Association and the Bedfordshire Independent BAME Association.

Utilising his social care background he sits on the South Bedfordshire Community Health Council and the Ethnic Advisory Panel advising on mental health issues as well as being a school governor for Cheynes Infants and Sundon Park Junior schools, to simply name a few of his voluntary work.

Both the Mayor and his wife have continued without fail to serve the community of Luton and are determined to continue to do so for many years to come.

He is also the current Chairman of the Luton branch of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Association. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines High Commissioner, Cenio Lewis congratulates Councillor Bullock on his achievement and wishes him every success in his role as Mayor of Luton.