Robert Davis (British politician)

Robert Davis was born on 27 September 1957. He is the son of Gerald Davis (died 2000) and Pamela Davis, née Lee (died 1997). He was educated at Christ's College, Finchley, and Wolfson College, Cambridge, after which he trained as a solicitor at the College of Law in London's Lancaster Gate. He was admitted as a solicitor in October 1983. From 1985 to 2015, Davis was a partner (now a consultant) in solicitors' firm Freeman Box, Bentinck Street, Marylebone, London, specialising in property law. ==Political career==

Davis was first elected to Westminster City Council in 1982 for the Bayswater ward, before representing neighbouring Lancaster Gate from 1986 onwards. From 1996 to 1997, he was the then youngest Lord Mayor of Westminster. Between 2003 and 2018, Davis served on a rota basis as one of a number of Lord Mayor Locum Tenens (deputising for the Lord Mayor). He was deputy leader of the council from May 2008 until March 2018. In addition, he served as Cabinet Member for the Built Environment (with responsibility for planning, major infrastructure projects and special events) from 2002 to 2017, and chaired the council's principal Planning Committee for seventeen years, from 2000 to 2017. Davis also served as Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Heritage between January 2017 and March 2018. As Cabinet Member for large infrastructure projects, he initiated and led on the project to make Baker Street and Gloucester Place two way, the public realm improvements to Bond Street and Hanover Square, and the public realm project around the Aldwych. He also oversaw the £21m rejuvenation of Leicester Square, and the regeneration of Piccadilly and Marble Arch. – and in persuading Derwent London to build a new 650-seat theatre in Charing Cross Road (now under construction and due for completion in 2022, it is currently known as the "Nimax"). He was also responsible for the council's Green plaque scheme commemorating famous people and events, and their association with Westminster properties. Davis chaired the Westminster World Heritage Site Board between 2015 and 2018. In March 2018, following criticism of "the large scale of gifts and hospitality" received by Davis from property developers, he resigned as Deputy Leader of the council and as a Cabinet Member to allow an internal independent inquiry to investigate the issues at his own request. He subsequently resigned from the Council in October 2018. At the time of his resignation, he was the borough's longest currently serving councillor, with a tenure lasting over 36 years. He was also the longest-serving Westminster councillor since the borough's formation in 1965. Allegations On 7 March 2018, Davis stood down as deputy leader and as a cabinet member after The Guardian reported into him having received hospitality and gifts over 500 times between 2012 and 2017, much of it from property developers, during the period when he was Chairman of the Planning Committee. and Sir George Iacobescu. == Other interests==

Between 1997 and 2016, Davis chaired the London Mayors' Association, an organisation comprising the current and former mayors of the 33 London Boroughs, which was originally founded in 1901. Davis turned the then moribund LMA into a successful and widely recognised group. He was a director and trustee of the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park from 1986 to 2019, and chairman of the Board between 2009 and 2019, during which time the venue won several theatrical awards, including Oliviers. Together with his fellow councillor Lady Flight, and other colleagues, he founded the Sir Simon Milton Foundation, a registered charity which was established after the death of Davis's partner Sir Simon Milton (lately Leader of Westminster Council, Chairman of the Local Government Association and Deputy Mayor of London and Chief of Staff to Boris Johnson as Mayor of London until Milton's death in 2011). The purpose of the charity was to continue to support Milton's priorities to address loneliness and isolation among older persons, and to support young people into work through supporting their educational needs. The Foundation now runs Silver Sunday, a day held every October to support older people in meeting others by attending one of over 1,200 events throughout the country. The Foundation has also sponsored the establishment of the Sir Simon Milton Westminster University Technical College in Pimlico, and has distributed a number of bursaries and grants to students in financial need, including at Davis and Milton's own Cambridge College, Gonvile & Caius. Davis is currently Deputy Chairman of the Foundation. Davis is a trustee of the Savoy Educational Trust, a charity established by the Directors of the Savoy Hotel, which provides financial assistance to hospitality colleges and schools. He is also a trustee of Mousetrap Theatre Projects, a charity that helps young people, including those with disabilities, to attend West End theatre shows at a low cost. In 2007, Davis helped establish the Westminster Guide Lecturers' Association, which awards authorised green badges to tour guides expert in the history of the City of Westminster who have passed an exam. Davis was its first Honorary President between 2007 and 2017. He has been the International Goodwill Ambassador of the London New Year's Day Parade since 1998, and between 2003 and 2018 organised the Westminster Council entry in the Parade, winning the Best Borough Entry seven times. He also served on the Board of the New West End Company (the Business Improvement District for Oxford Street, Regent's Street and Bond Street) between 2000 and 2011, and again between 2017 and 2018. ==Honours and awards==

Davis is a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London. ==Personal life==

His long-term partner (until his death in 2011) was Sir Simon Milton, who had been leader of Westminster City Council and Deputy Mayor of London to Boris Johnson. In 2007, they entered into a civil partnership at London's Ritz Hotel. In 2022, Davis published an autobiography, Unplanned - The Snakes and Ladders of a Life in the City of Westminster. He lists his interests in ''Who's Who'' as "the theatre, collecting miniature mayors, learning Spanish". ==References==