Members of the Magistrates’ Association (MA) have elected a new national chair and two deputy chairs. They will take up post immediately after the MA’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 15 October 2022.
These three trustee roles are subject to election annually. Nominations were sought from eligible candidates in June. One candidate, Mark Beattie, was nominated for national chair and two candidates, David Ford and Jacqui MacDonald-Davis, were nominated for the two deputy chair positions. They have, therefore, been elected unopposed.
Mark Beattie has been a magistrate for 16 years and sits as court chair in both adult and youth courts on the North London bench. He joined the MA’s board of trustees in May 2017 and has been deputy chair for the past two years. Previously, he chaired the MA’s training, learning and development committee and the London magistrates’ area training committee. He also served three years as bench chair for North London.
Jacqui MacDonald-Davis became a magistrate in 2005 and sits on the Central London bench, of which she was a deputy chair until 2020. She has been a member of the MA’s board of trustees for three years, and is chair of the MA’s Black, Asian and minority ethnic network. She is also deputy chair of the MA’s training, learning and development committee.
David Ford was appointed as a magistrate in 1994 and sits as a presiding justice in both adult and youth courts, on the Mid and South Glamorgan bench. He first joined the MA’s board of trustees in 2018 and sits on the MA’s youth court committee. He was elected youth panel chair of the Cardiff bench in 2009-2010.
The MA’s national chair-elect Mark Beattie said:
“I’m delighted that I will be stepping into the role of national chair after the AGM in October. I take over from the indefatigable Bev Higgs, who steps down after two years as national chair and many other years’ involvement in the MA. We owe Bev a huge amount, and she has given the association a renewed focus and sense of purpose over the past two years. We’ve celebrated some iconic successes under her leadership this year—the raising of the retirement age, the increase in the jurisdiction for magistrates and the huge national recruitment campaign for more magistrates.
“We’ve got some big issues on the horizon, not least the abolition of local justice areas in 2023, and the debate about what should replace them. We will be speaking up for magistrates and working to make sure members’ voices are heard. Another priority for me is ensuring that it doesn’t cost to volunteer as a magistrate—we’ll publish a report this autumn with more than a dozen recommendations for the expenses regime. Finally, I want the coming year to be the MA’s year of membership—the more magistrates that are members, the stronger our collective voice and the more we can help our members be the best magistrates they can be. We’ll be launching a major recruitment drive over the coming year.
“I very much look forward to working with members across England and Wales.”
There are four candidates for the three remaining vacancies on the MA’s board of trustees. Their profiles are in the August/September edition of Magistrate, and members will be able to vote in September.
The AGM will take place alongside our flagship annual event, our conference and awards ceremony. Subject matter experts will be joining us to discuss the timely topic of open justice.
