City Hall looks set to get its first ever speechwriter, with Mayor Sadiq Khan willing to pay up to £55,000 a year for help in wowing audiences with profound observations and witty repartee.
Both former Mayors Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson managed without such assistance, although Boris largely accomplished this by having a single speech onto which he bolted a few (vaguely) event-specific paragraphs.
Over his eight years at City Hall a vast array of diverse audiences politely chuckled as he wheeled out his never funny gag about “cutting crime on buses, not crime by buses which we’ve largely eradicated.”
However it seems the new Mayor is unsure whether he’ll be able to match his predecessor’s comedy genius and will shortly be inviting applications for the role of Mayoral speechwriter.
A spokesperson says the role is a little more important than just coming up with gags, the lucky applicant will also “focus on researching and developing a wide range of written communication on behalf of the Mayor for the large and diverse number of meetings, visits and events he attends each week across the capital.”
Other new must-have hires include a “Head of Advance,” a “Head of Digital Communications” and a “Senior Aide to the Mayor” who will be required to “lead on social media communications from events” – aka send Tweets and update Sadiq’s Facebook page.
Here’s a full list of the roles likely to be advertised over the coming weeks:
AMs who are still sore about Sadiq’s decision to block their pensions are a little surprised he’s found money in the kitty to pay for the new hirings.
However City Hall claims it’s “currently” saving £119k on the cost of the Mayor’s office compared to the pre-election period.
