[The Mayor of Bath, Dr Cllr Bharat Pankhania, pictured with the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Ian Halsall, at last year’s Mayor Making]
The Mayor of Bath, Dr Cllr Bharat Pankhania, has resigned from his party and Mayoralship. The Deputy Mayor, Cllr Ian Halsall, will take over most of his duties until the appointment of a new mayor at the annual meetings of the Charter Trustees in June.
Cllr Pankhania was suspended by his party following the reposting of antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, following the attack on ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in London.
He has apologised ‘profusely’ for his actions and deleted the post. His political party, the Liberal Democrats, said they rejected antisemitism in all its forms
The following statement has been issued by the Liberal Democrats:
“Today, March 30 2026, Cllr Bharat Pankhania has offered his resignation from the position of Mayor of Bath and from the Liberal Democrat Group on Bath and North East Somerset Council, from which he had already been suspended.
Both these resignations have been accepted.
Cllr Pankhania again apologised for his interactions on X, and reiterated that he has spent his life working with all communities, whilst acknowledging the hurt he had caused. In resigning, Cllr Pankhania is taking clear personal responsibility for his actions.
As a Group and as a Party, we reject discrimination wherever it occurs and reiterate our stance against antisemitism. “
I don’t think anything like this has happened before, and we have had 798 mayors so far.
This evening, another statement, this time from the Mayor’s Office:
“The Charter Trustees of the City of Bath can confirm that Councillor Professor Bharat Pankhania has resigned from his position as Mayor of Bath.
The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ian Halsall and senior Charter Trustees will cover all civic engagements until the Annual General Meeting on Saturday 6 June 2026 when the next Mayor will be elected.”
All I can say is June’s ‘Mayor Making’ ceremony at Bath Abbey is going to be a bit awkward.
The only acceptable outcome. But the office has been tarnished. As you say, 1 out of 798! Does he retain his role as a councillor, standing as an independent?
Thanx for the info Richard!