TikTok, ChatGPT and dodging the dress code: Nick Sandford's year as Peterborough's modern mayor

From using ChatGPT for speech writing to setting up a TikTok account, Peterborough’s mayor has made efforts to modernise the role over the last year.

Nick Sandford is now drawing to the end of his term, in which he says he’s aimed for “conservation not preservation” of the historic title.

“Preservation is what you do to jam,” he said. “You want to protect some of the important traditions but things need to evolve as well.”

One of the ways in which he did that was by working with the then Youth MP Eva Woods to put together videos explaining the mayor’s duties to young people, which were shared on Facebook and TikTok.

These covered the ceremonial aspects of the role, as well as fundraising, community outreach and chairing council meetings.

He’s also previously said he downloaded the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT onto his phone to help with putting together mayoral speeches.

'Nobody noticed' dress code lapse

Mr Sandford – who was until this month’s local elections a Liberal Democrat councillor in Peterborough – says, though, that he avoided kicking up too much of a fuss about having to wear the old-fashioned mayoral robes as his predecessor, Cllr Alan Dowson (Labour, Fletton and Woodston), spent a lot of time trying to modernise the rules around dress to little avail.

But he found other ways to get around them.

“The protocol says that when the mayor goes to open the fairground, he should wear his gown, frilly collar and cuffs,” he said.

“I thought it would be a bit ridiculous going to a fair in a frilly collar so I just made a slight variation and not a single person noticed.”

His likely successor, Cllr Marco Cereste (Conservatives, Hampton Vale), is proposing not wearing a gown to chair full council meetings, though, he said, so the rules could end up being relaxed after all.

'I respectfully listened to tune' of national anthem

Like Cllr Dowson, Mr Sandford says he’s “passionately, strongly republican”, despite having to attend civic events at which the national anthem is played.

“They did seem to play God Save the King quite a lot but I got round that,” he said. “Although I don’t agree with the monarchy personally, it’s part of the institutions of the country and so I just stand there and respectfully listen to the tune.”

He added that it was "ironic" that on a visit to a primary school in Ravensthorpe, a child asked him if being the mayor was the same as being the king.

"Both are ceremonial posts and, although in theory you've got lots of powers, the king has to take advice from the prime minister and the mayor has to take advice from the council chief executive," he said.

Mr Sandford lost his Paston and Walton seat in May’s local elections by just five votes to Conservative Alex Rafiq.

Serving his year as mayor – which councillors now usually do when they become the longest-serving member who hasn’t yet taken up the role – right before he was up for re-election may not have been to his benefit, Mr Sandford said.

“Maybe it made it harder to spend time in the ward,” he said. “People like to see you walking around. I tried really hard to make sure it didn’t detract, but I think in a number of ways it’s made it harder.”

He added that he was “a bit shell-shocked” on the night after losing his seat.

Mr Sandford had served on PCC for 28 years.

He will remain mayor until the council’s annual mayor making meeting on 20th May.