About the Mayor

The Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane 2017/18 is Cllr Paul Frankum

Mayor's biography

Paul was born in Basingstoke hospital in 1970 to Ken and Jane Frankum. He attended Merton Infant and Junior School before going on to The Vyne Community School, followed by Basingstoke College of Technology where he studied computer and business studies. His first job was at a mobile disco company but he went on to carve out a career in IT services, working in programming, installation and supporting and repairing hardware.

Paul will take over the role of Mayor from his mother, Cllr Jane Frankum. He has become a very familiar face across the borough, having accompanied her on numerous public engagements over the last year as Deputy Mayor. She will now, in turn, be accompanying Paul to his engagements as his Mayoress.

The Popley community in which he lives has always been very important to Paul. When his mother suggested, in 1997, that Popley needed a community magazine, he agreed to show her how to lay out the first edition of Popley Matters on the computer. 184 issues later, Paul is a driving force behind the magazine, and spends a great deal of time working to ensure that the editions are written, edited and distributed every month.

Two years after the launch of Popley Matters, having discovered his passion for wanting to make a difference within his community, Paul was elected as a borough councillor in May 1999, representing the Popley ward, which became Popley West in the boundary review of 2002. It’s a position he has held ever since.

He has also held various other positions within the community, serving as a school governor at what was John Hunt of Everest School (now the Everest Community Academy) and on the committees of Sycamore Community Association, Melrose Community Association and Popley Fields Community Association.

In his leisure time Paul enjoys collecting whisky. He’s now amassed a collection of over 200 bottles, including rare and a number of first release examples. He’s a fan of ice hockey and cricket and enjoys playing pool and tenpin bowling and was the captain of a local tenpin bowling team for a while.

Paul is looking forward to taking on the role of Mayor and to building on the legacy left by his mother, who set up the Mayor’s Community Chest to support small local charities who might not otherwise receive the recognition or funding that they deserve or need.

Mayoress

Cllr Jane Frankum, mother of Cllr Paul Frankum, has served as a borough councillor since 1998 and as a county councillor since 2001.

Prior to becoming a councillor, Jane worked as a cleaner at Basingstoke Hospital, mainly on the Children's Ward.

She has two sons, Paul and Tony Frankum, and lives in Popley where she is heavily involved in the local community.

She will spend her year as Mayoress supporting her son, attending engagements with him and sharing her own experience of Mayor with him.

The Deputy Mayor

The Mayor asks the Deputy Mayor to stand in if the Mayor is not available.

The Deputy Mayor for 2017/18 is Cllr Sean Keating.

About the Mayor Paul Frankum 2017 (PDF, 225 kb)