Worthing’s ‘loudest man’ stands down as councillor after 20 years
Rob Smytherman has been a councillor since 2002
A long-standing councillor’s name was absent from the ballot papers on Thursday as he retired from politics.
Robert (Bob) Smytherman has served as a borough councillor since 2002 but he stepped down from the role at the latest local election.
Mr Smytherman was one of two Lib Dems serving on Worthing Borough Council pre-election and represented Tarring ward.
He also served as the Mayor of Worthing between 2013 and 2014.
Although he will no longer give speeches in the council chamber, he will continue as Adur and Worthing’s town crier – a role he has held since 2014.
Mr Smytherman also served as a county councillor between 2009 and 2021.
He says he has been involved with the Liberal Democrats for 30 years now and recalled his early campaigning and a couple of election losses in the 1990s.
“I was working at a burger bar in Worthing, knocking on doors trying to get my brother-in-law elected,” he said, “Knocking on doors in Castle ward, which is where I live now, and he got elected.
“Then the Liberal Democrats asked if I would join the party and get involved myself.
“They twisted my arm to stand as a candidate in 1991, which I did – I stood in Durrington and lost.
“I then took a bit of time out because I just didn’t have time to be a councillor.”
Bob left the burger bar in around 2000 to start his own business; several coffee concessions in Shoreham and Littlehampton.
But it wasn’t long before he was back to campaigning and he stood as a Lib Dem candidate for Tarring and won in 2002.
“I’ve been a councillor for the last 20 years because the good people of Tarring kept voting me in!” he said.
But Bob is now looking forward to working on other projects and simply having time to ‘enjoy life’ when he reaches 55 at the end of this year.
“One of the reasons why I’m calling it a day really is because it’s just not as enjoyable as it once was,” he said.
“Having been there for 20 years, it’s just started to get really quite personal and the council chamber is just not an enjoyable place to be any more.”
He has called for more collaboration between parties in the council chamber to prevent the public from ‘switching off’.
“Sometimes, a lot of politicians, they take themselves too seriously,” he said.
“But actually, local politics is about the community and it’s about making a difference regardless of what colour rosette you wear.”
Outside of politics, Bob’s roles have included being chair of governors at a local school, working part-time with the Southern Co-op, work with Dementia Friendly Worthing, and serving as chairman of the Federation of Private Residents Association.
Bob said lockdown ‘made him realise that it was time to do something else’.
“I have to remind people I’ve been doing it since I was in my early twenties,” he said.
But he will still be very much involved with the community as Town Crier and in other roles.
“I became the mayor in 2013 and raised 20,000 pounds for the Alzheimer’s Society, Guildcare, and Mind,” he said.
“And I think the legacy from that year is probably my proudest achievement.”
Bob’s message to the people of Tarring is: ‘thank you’.
“Thank you for putting your trust in me for the last 20 years,” he said.
“It’s been an absolute honour and a privilege to serve the people of Tarring.
“I’ve very much enjoyed it and I wouldn’t have done it that long if I hadn’t.”
In terms of his hopes for the future of Worthing Borough Council, Bob said he wants the Lib Dems to retain their seats and he also hopes for ‘relatively sensible decision-making’ in the chamber.