Tim Hailes, a former City solicitor and prominent diversity and inclusion campaigner who had been in line to become the City of London’s first out gay Lord Mayor, has withdrawn from consideration just days before the election.
The City of London Corporation issued a short statement on Sunday (27 September), announcing that Hailes, a former associate general counsel at JPMorgan, had notified the Court of Aldermen of his withdrawal. It did not give a reason for the decision.
Hailes, who served as the first out gay Sheriff of London from 2017-18, had been the Court of Aldermen’s preferred candidate for the mayoralty to succeed Dame Susan Langley.
The statement said that the 2027/28 candidate, Bronek Masojada, former chief executive of insurer Hiscox, would now receive the support of the Court of Aldermen in this year’s election.
“The arrangements for the election of the next Lord Mayor will continue as planned, with the election taking place at Common Hall on Tuesday 29 September,” it added. “The Lord Mayor-elect will be formally admitted into office on 13 November 2026.”
Lord mayors are chosen from the 25 aldermen and alderwomen in the Square Mile who have also served as sheriff.
Hailes, the alderman for Bassishaw, spent two decades at JPMorgan in senior legal and regulatory roles and is currently a partner at management consultancy Meridian Global Strategies. Earlier in his career, he worked at legacy Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and trained and qualified at legacy Wilde Sapte, now Dentons.
According to his LinkedIn profile, his “commitment to diversity and inclusion dates back to 1994 as one of the very few openly gay lawyers in the financial services industry".
It added: “His subsequent advocacy at JPMorgan as a major client inspired the foundation of the InterLaw Diversity Network of which he remains a patron.”
He was appointed to the magistracy by the Lord Chancellor in autumn 2012 on the Central London bench sitting at Westminster and City of London Law Courts.
In June, the corporation said that, subject to election, Hailes was in line to become Lord Mayor.
The office combines leadership of the Square Mile’s governing body with an international role representing the UK’s financial and professional services sector.
Masojada served as Sheriff of the City of London from 2023-34 and is the alderman for Billingsgate. His selection still depends on the election process: the livery at Common Hall returns two eligible aldermen, from whom the Court chooses the next Lord Mayor.
The withdrawal of a preferred mayoral candidate ahead of an election is unprecedented in modern times. The last time it is believed to have happened was in 1927.
Hailes was contacted for comment.
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