When the Mayor is chairing a meeting, do I need to refer to him/her as "Mayor" or "Chair"?

Question

At a recent meeting, the Mayor would not allow a Councillor to speak unless the chair was referred to as the "Mayor" rather than the Chair.  The Clerk was asked for an opinion but gave some waffle about the Council deciding that the Chairman of the Council was to be given the title of Mayor.  There's nothing in Standing Orders.

Answer 1

Sounds like someone has grandeur issues....

Answer 2

A little pedantic it would seem to make a point of it at a meeting. Mayor and chair are in fact to my knowledge interchangeable titles depending on the status of the council concerned. One of the Mayors duties would be to chair council meetings. Seems a petty point to make and possibly an attempt to stamp the "mayors" authority on the proceedings. Anyway a rose by any other name.......

Answer 3

I am both Chair and Mayor of our council. (Both roles are usually done by the same person although they don't have to be). We are quite informal at our meetings and quite often use forenames instead of Cllr whatever.  I can honestly say I've never taken any notice of how I am addressed and don't mind in the slightest. A Mayor and Chair are two different roles and to me being the Chair is the most important role anyway.  Your Mayor/Chair should have far more important things to worry about! I concur with MrsAbster - grandeur issues!

Answer 4

One approach might be to challenge the Mayor / Chair's authority to prevent someone from speaking.  Does the applicable Standing Order state the process for a debate?  For a Mayor / Chair to refuse to hear a councillor on the basis of how they open their address may even amount to a breach of the code of conduct.  Powertripping!