Truro’s departing mayor made an emotional speech as VE Day came to a close, thanking Truronians for their support and expressing her hopes for mayors to come.

Presiding over the lighting of the beacon at High Cross on Thursday, Cllr Carol Swain told those gathered: “This is my last event as Truro mayor. I will step down on Monday, and I will hand these chains back to be locked away safely until the newly elected council chooses a new mayor.

“I would like to thank everyone in Truro, including my fellow councillors, for taking me to their hearts and for trusting me to wear this chain. I am not native Cornish; I am from that other Duchy in the north. But while my family lived there because they had work there, Truro has become home to me in a way that my native duchy never was.”

Cllr Swain is the Lib Dem councillor Tregolls ward, and has been city mayor since 2023, having been re-elected following a 12-month term described by fellow councillors as “hugely challenging”. She has been supported by mayoress Sarah Douglas-Martin and deputy mayor Cllr Sam Rabey.

The mayoral chain was made in 1880 for the laying of the foundations of Truro Cathedral, and has been worn by all Truro mayors since. “It doesn’t say what the office is: it says ‘City of Truro’,” said Cllr Swain. “Every time I put this chain on, it reminds me that being mayor isn’t about me; the wearer is just a coathanger.

“This is about Truro. I hope mayors to come will feel the weight of history and the joy of being part of that history.”

Truro’s mayor acts as chair of the city council, attending at least a dozen meetings each year, as well as representing the council at civic events, and being invited to preside over events including bowling the first bowl of the season at Truro Bowling Club.

Town clerk David Rodda paid tribute to Cllr Swain, saying: “On a personal note and on behalf of the Truro City Council team, I would like to thank Carol. She has been a stalwart mayor, giving freely of her time and enthusiasm, keeping her hand on the tiller during my first year as town clerk.”

A new mayor is due to be chosen on Monday evening as the first item of the agenda on the city council’s annual meeting at 7pm. Contenders for the role must be proposed and seconded by noon on Monday, in time for the vote at 7pm.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting, which will take place in the historic Municipal Buildings in Boscawen Street - the council returned there on April 28 after an absence of seven years for refurbishment.

The election will be followed in due course by the formal mayoral installation, which will be attended by large numbers of past and present city and Cornwall councillors, Cornwall Councillors, as well as mayors and civic dignitaries from other towns in Cornwall.