At the Annual Meeting of the Council on Wednesday 21 May, Councillor Steve Bax was elected to serve as the Mayor of Elmbridge for the 2025 to 2026 Municipal Year. He has represented Molesey East Ward as a Conservative Councillor since 2014.
Steve was born in Chiswick in 1974, the year Elmbridge Borough Council was formed. His English dad worked as a bank manager, estate agent and later as a decorator. His mum, originally from Cyprus, was an early pioneer of ‘work from home’ cutting hair from a front room used as a small salon. Young Steve enjoyed meeting the customers and hearing about their lives.
He had two ambitions as a teenager, to become a journalist or an MP! Since the former was a bit more within reach, he applied to study Newspaper Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and was accepted. Steve briefly worked for the Royal Mail to save money for university and, in the process, got some early experience of delivering that would later come in useful for council election campaigns!
Steve worked part time for the Blackpool Citizen newspaper alongside his studies, and, after graduating in 1998, having had a wonderful time at university, he joined the respected Press Association in Leeds. It was the time of the ‘dotcom boom’ and Steve was involved with teams building websites for BT and the Prince of Wales and helped launch the global news site Ananova.com.
In the early 2000s, Steve returned to London to freelance for national newspapers and magazines, before joining the Surrey Herald newspaper as a local reporter. He loved the freedom to delve into all aspects of community life, sniffing out front page exclusives, interviewing interesting people, shining a light on local issues and problems. All this plus attending so many council meetings, provided a foundation to stand for council.
Steve met his wife Kim in 2005, and they settled in Molesey, going on to have three boys. In 2011, Steve had the opportunity to stand for council, contesting the Molesey East seat held by the well-established local Residents Association. He didn’t win that year but thoroughly enjoyed the experience and kept going until eventually successful.
Balancing a full-time job with council duties and a young family was a challenge but one that Steve rose to with the help and support of Kim. He considers joining the council to be one of the best decisions he has made, and he feels privileged to be able to help his residents and improve day to day life in our borough.
In 2016, Steve joined the Police Federation of England and Wales in the communications team, lobbying Parliament for police driver legal protections and tougher sentences for those who assault the emergency services, later becoming editor of POLICE magazine.
From 2021 to date, Steve has returned to freelancing, working as an election agent and campaign manager, and being elected to Surrey County Council where he currently serves in the role of Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways.
However, Elmbridge Borough Council continues to hold a special place in Steve’s heart, and he is deeply humbled, delighted and grateful for the opportunity to represent the borough as Mayor of Elmbridge for the current year.
Mayor’s charity
The Mayor’s charity this year is the Community Fund for Elmbridge. As Mayor and Mayoress Steve and Kim will be working closely with Sandown Racecourse, who are celebrating 150 years in Esher. Together they are aiming to raise an amazing £150,000 for local good causes in the borough and to change local lives for the better.
If you would like further details about the Mayor or his charity please email the Mayor’s secretary: themayor@elmbridge.gov.uk or view:
Further information
For further information about the Mayor, please see Councillor Steve Bax or for information about the Deputy Mayor, please see, Councillor Judy Sarsby.