Catholic councillor is elected as new Mayor of Cambridge

Catholic Cllr Baiju Thittala was elected as the new Mayor of Cambridge for the municipal year 2024-2025 at Cambridge City Council’s annual council meeting on May 23 and Fr Simon Blakesley was invited to be his chaplain.

Baiju lives close to St Laurence’s Church and moved to England 20 years ago from India. He is the first mayor of Cambridge to come from the subcontinent. He is married with three children and works a solicitor who takes a keen interest in the needs of the homeless who are drawn into the criminal justice system. His chosen charities included Cambridge Street Aid who try and break the homelessness cycle.

Cllr Thittala said: “In 2018 I was elected to represent East Chesterton in the by-election, becoming one of only a handful of first-generation people from a minority ethnic background to be a councillor in the history of Cambridge City Council.

“Since then, I have continued to campaign to build a fairer society, whether in my role as Lead Councillor for Equalities, or my ongoing commitment to supporting my community, as a way of repaying the support I received myself when I first arrived here from Kerala.

“Having experienced homelessness myself, I can better understand the pain, sorrows, sufferings, and agonies of the people who are homeless.

“Even in my professional practice, I have seen people going to prison because they are homeless, inspiring the choice of Street Aid as one of my mayoral charities.

“The new world-class Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital has the potential to lead the way on detecting and treating cancer. The charity which raises funds to support the hospital is predominantly led by local immigrants, inspiring my second choice for mayoral charity.”

Pictured above is the new Mayor of Cambridge, Cllr Baiju Thittala, with his family and Fr Simon Blakesley, at his election.

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