Last Wednesday was officially the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Barbara Murray’s final day in office.

And subsequently, my last day as head of comms for the Lord Mayor.

There are many ways that you can measure the success of her campaign.

Most important for me in any relationships I experience in work and in life, is the energy exchange. That’s my go-to measure.

And if you had seen just a tiny minutiae of the feeling in the room when the Lord Mayor arrived to literally hundreds of events, it would have made you smile.

There’s nothing better spending your days with people who ooze practicality and positivity, wave away negativity and focus on the prize.

That prize was about raising awareness of skills acquisition, and helping young people gain better aspirations through education starting with literacy.

The Lord Mayor has spent a huge amount of time on ceremonial duties as well, but all of it has been full of the feel good factor.

It’s a bit harder to find that factor, especially online right now so I’ve been blessed to have been asked to be a part of all this on a weekly basis.

The aim was always to make the Lord Mayor’s role this year as highly visible as any previous incumbent.

Barbara has achieved that on her own through her own endeavours.

Yes, she’s been backed by a dedicated team that have put untold hours into supporting what she has been doing.

And I can speak for everybody on the various committees in saying that it is obvious how much she appreciated everybody’s help.

It’s why so many people have showed up for her.

Finally, in spite of today, Barbara leaves a legacy which will become clear in the coming weeks and months.

Some of that legacy is obvious looking back at how she lit up a room, how she soldiered on through illness to be at so many events, how she always responded to everybody in looking to meet her, and plenty more!

Calibre is often at the centre of a critique when society views public office these days. Rightly so.

Barbara’s term has been of the highest calibre and I’ll be celebrating in a little toast to her and all the team later.

On behalf of the City, thank you for your unrelenting, heart-centred dedication Lord Mayor