 He served as the Lord Mayor of Nottingham in 2003/04, and was Sheriff of Nottingham for two years from 1991.Whilst serving the latter civic office, he travelled to the United States to present Hollywood actor Kevin Costner with an award recognising the achievements of the film , in which Costner played the lead role and, when he was Lord Mayor, opened the Ningbo campus of the University of Nottingham in China.He stood down from Nottingham City Council in May 2007, moved to Lincoln, ostensibly to retire, but was subsequently voted in as councillor for Park Ward on Lincoln City Council.