About the Mayor

The Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane 2022/23 is Cllr Paul Miller

Mayor's biography

Councillor Paul Miller is honoured to serve the residents of Basingstoke and Deane for the 2022/23 civic year. He will be accompanied by his wife Sandra as the Mayoress and they hope to engage with as many communities and residents in the borough as they can during this time.

Paul was born in Shrewsbury when his father was serving in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) at a nearby airbase. This was followed by the nomadic life of a military family that took them to California and other western states before returning to the UK on his father’s last flying assignment.

After secondary school, Paul joined the Royal Air Force and was commissioned at the tender age of 18. After training as an air traffic controller, he was fortunate enough to be assigned to the Indian Ocean and Singapore before returning to the UK for two more tours of duty before a four-and-a-half-year tour in Malta.

Returning to the UK as an instructor, he was then promoted to Squadron Leader for his command tour at a very busy airfield in Yorkshire followed by two staff tours at the Ministry of Defence in London and Air Command at RAF High Wycombe. Throughout his time in the RAF, Paul flew in many aircraft types amassing some 400 hours as second pilot and became the Chief Flying Instructor at an RAF Gliding Club, as well as qualifying as a rugby referee.

On leaving the RAF in 1989, Paul entered the defence industry and within two years had moved to Brussels, initially as a contractor for the Eurocontrol, the European Airspace Management Agency, and then to the headquarters of NATO. It was during this time that he met his wife Sandra, who was also working in the sector.

The year 2000 saw them move to southern California where, once again, the aviation sector called, with Sandra becoming the Chief Information Officer for a global airline Polar Air Cargo and Paul as an independent AeroSystems consultant.

In 2007 they returned to the UK when they bought a house in Basingstoke as Paul was employed in Alton at a subsidiary of QinetiQ. Within three months he had become a parish councillor in Chineham and is still the Parish Council Chairman.

Paul was elected as a borough councillor for Chineham in a by-election in October 2009 and has specialised in planning and development related matters in his time at the council. This includes being Chairman of the Development Control Committee over an eight year period, as well as membership of other committees and outside bodies including six years as school governor. His active support in armed forces veterans’ affairs is well known and he represents Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council on the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Council of Partners.

The Mayor’s theme for 2022–2023

Community Engagement

As we emerge from the COVID19 pandemic, with pressures from all sides on our family budgets and growing threats from climate change to ever more dangerous conflicts around the world, our community values are now even more important than ever.

We have seen our communities come together over the last two years. The positivity we have seen as a result needs to continue with all the encouragement and support we, as individuals and organisations, can offer.

About the Mayor Cllr Miller - brochure 2022/23(PDF) [354 kb]

Mayoress

Sandra was born and raised in north Hampshire and, after teacher training, taught mathematics in several secondary schools including the original John Hunt of Everest School in Popley.

She left teaching to pursue a career in the defence industry after gaining her second degree in computer science. She then worked with Paul in Brussels in the aerospace sector.

During their time in California, she was appointed the IT Vice-President of a global air cargo airline, leaving when the corporate headquarters moved to the cold state of New York.

Since living in Basingstoke, Sandra has devoted her time to two quilting groups and raising funds for numerous charities

The Deputy Mayor

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

The Deputy Mayor for 2022/23 is Cllr David Leeks.