The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor & The Deputy Lord Mayor

 

Lord Mayor of Exeter - Councillor Kevin Mitchell

Kevin was born in Exeter and grew up in the Whipton area of the City. Kevin has six siblings and his parents still live in his childhood home in the Thornpark Rise area. He attended Whipton Barton Infants School, Whipton Barton Middle School and Vincent Thompson High School (now St Luke’s) and then went on to attend Exeter College where he completed his A’Levels.

Kevin worked as a care assistant in residential / nursing homes before in 1996 moving to Guildford to commence his nurse training at the University of Surrey. A year later he moved to Frimley and most of his training occurred at Frimley Park Hospital.

In 1999 Kevin qualified as a nurse and moved to Plymouth, where he initially worked on an Elderly Care Ward and then the Haematology Unit both at Derriford Hospital. Kevin very much enjoyed his work but missed his home City of Exeter so in 2001 he moved back to the City after securing a job within the Haematology Unit at the RD&E Hospital.

Whilst completing his Honours Degree at the University of Plymouth Kevin developed a passion for oncology nursing and very much enjoys building up a relationship with his patients and their loved ones. Although his job can be very emotional, he believes doing the smallest things can make such a difference for individuals under his care. Kevin therefore moved to the Oncology Inpatient ward at the RD&E in 2003 and worked there for over a decade before moving on to be a Clinical Nurse Specialist initially within the Upper Gastrointestinal team and now within Skin and Sarcoma service. Kevin will continue to work as a nurse during his term as Lord Mayor. He cares passionately about our NHS and hopes to be able to promote some of its excellent work during his term.

Kevin was first elected to the City Council for St James Ward in 2003 and represented this diverse community until 2015. In 2016 he was elected to represent the newly formed Duryard & St James ward, who he continues to represent. During his time on the Council Kevin has served on Planning, Licensing, as a Chair and Vice-Chair of Scrutiny Committees and as the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Leisure. Kevin has also been a Group Leader and the Co-Leader of the opposition. Kevin believes passionately in Community politics and feels the primary role of a Councillor is to represent the community they have been elected to serve.

Kevin met his husband Ian in 2007, they celebrated their Civil Partnership in 2008 and converted this to a marriage in 2018. Ian was a retail manager at a City Centre Kitchenware shop for most of his working life but is now retired. They live with their Cat Millie and they both enjoy travelling, watching movies and eating out. Ian will act as the Lord Mayor’s Consort.

Kevin has been Deputy Lord Mayor for Exeter on two occasions firstly in 2008/09 and secondly in 2011/12. Kevin is the first Lord Mayor of Exeter to be appointed for two terms of office, having also served as Lord Mayor for the 2023/24 municipal year. Kevin is a very proud Exonian and hopes to ensure his Mayoral term is as modern and inclusive as possible, whilst still upholding the traditions of the Mayoralty which are so important to our City’s heritage.

 

The Deputy Lord Mayor of Exeter - Councillor Paul Knott

Growing up in South London within sight of Selhurt Park, Paul is a lifelong Crystal Palace supporter, attending home games throughout the 60’s and early 70’s. Gaining a scholarship to Trinity School, Croydon. Pauls’ hobbies included performing with the National Youth Orchestra in both woodwind and percussion sections, playing rugby, hockey and cricket as well as amateur dramatics and his first foray into politics, joining the National Union of School Students on its foundation. Introduced to motor racing by his father, Paul was a regular attendee at Brands Hatch, watching anything from Demolition Derby’s to Grand Prix.

Going on to read Modern Languages at Aberystwyth, Paul is fluent in French and Spanish and has a smattering of Welsh, Swedish and Italian. He continued in student politics and was elected to the executive of his student union.

He then worked for Spain’s Ministry of Education, teaching English to the staff at the University of La Laguna in the Canary Islands. Returning to England he found work on British Rail, working through the ranks to become a train driver at a variety of depots in Yorkshire and Scotland. An active trade unionist in this time, Paul has been a member of the NUR, RMT and ASLEF, and remains a retired member of ASLEF, the train driver’s union. Paul established himself as a mobile DJ in his spare time, specialising in weddings and fundraising events.

As a trade unionist he has been a branch secretary and a branch chair, an LDC representative and a Health and Safety representative as well as assisting members with disciplinary matters. He continued to take an active part in a variety of sports including rugby union, cricket, grass hockey and squash as well as pursuing an enthusiasm for motorcycling which eventually led to a collection of 26 different models; and taking part in the first ever telethon, where he and his fellow club members created a working, taxed and tested, custom motorcycle in 24 hrs using only scrap parts. He continued to DJ in his spare time, including working at Radio Aire in Leeds.

Forced to leave the railways with denationalisation, Paul retrained as a chef at Ayr college and then returned to higher education, graduating with distinction in Hospitality Management at Glasgow Caledonian University, during which time he met his wife, Nataliya. He returned to student politics, was elected student president and was also elected to the executive of the National Union of Students, Scotland.

As a chef he has worked in every aspect of catering from Michelin starred restaurants, nursing homes, garden centre cafes and Robert Burns themed restaurants.

Moving to Devon to be closer to his parents, who had retired to Beer, Paul reopened The Thatched House Inn in Exwick in partnership with Nataliya, and they have remained there ever since.

As well as developing the pub as a food and real ale destination, Paul strives to keep the pub at the heart of his community, regularly running quizzes, events, fundraisers and other functions with the hardworking team at The Thatch, ably led by his wife.

Once he had “retired” from The Thatch, Paul stood as a candidate in Exwick ward and was elected in 2022. No longer actively playing sports, he remains a social member of Exwick Cricket Club, still takes a keen interest in Crystal Palace’s performances and can be found on some Sundays behind the carvery at The Thatch and occasionally, behind the decks at functions.