Meet the mayor who complained her gold chains weren't shiny enough

Does she get to wear a shiny gold chain?

That's a sore point. The travelling chains for Councillor Sonja Crisp, Lord Mayor of York, are not quite bright enough, it seems.

Bit rusty, then?

In a set of leaked emails, Ms Crisp, 62, said they were in a "disgusting state". The Labour councillor, who became Lord Mayor this year, said she would not wear them and may cancel engagements until she got written confirmation that they would be re-gilded, the York Press reported.

What else did the emails say?

"Just a gentle reminder that I am the Lord Mayor, the first citizen, the rightful resident of the Mansion House and I have rights too." She said the council must find her accommodation in the city centre during the £1.6 million refurbishment of Mansion House, or she would "have no option but to stay put". In another email, a council official said she had had "yet another outburst" because of lack of access to the civic silver.

Bet she didn't think her emails would be leaked.

No. Ms Crisp, a Labour councillor, said she was very passionate about the position and "that passion can sometimes lead me to be forceful in pressing to ensure various aspects of our history are preserved".

Her statement said: "I am deeply concerned at any embarrassment to the Lord Mayoralty this may cause� I was very keen that the chains of office were re-gilded after more than one person reported to me that they were looking in very poor condition."

Ms Crisp said she only asked for a small part of the Mansion House budget be used on accommodation for the civic party, not the council budget, and that she "did express disappointment" that she had not been informed about the civic silver. But she added that her "recollection of the conversation [she] had with the officer [was] quite different to his".

So is re-gilding on the cards?

That remains unknown. But in a statement to the York Press, Cllr Dafydd Williams said the Labour Group always investigated any complaints about the conduct of its members" and that he would ask "for this matter to be considered by our whips".

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