Thay Thayalan

Thay currently serves as a Councillor for Tolworth Ward, a position he has held since 2014. In 2018/19, he was honoured to be Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston, and he has been an equality and inclusion champion in Kingston Borough Council since 2020. From 1986, Thay served in various capacities as Chair (8 years), Treasurer (6 years) and Trustee of the Kingston Race and Equalities Council (was the Kingston Group of Racial Understanding).

Thay is a founding member of Kingston Carnival, Global Arts Kingston (also Chair for five years), and the Institute of Tamil Culture (also Chair for six years and Secretary for fourteen). He has served as a trustee of Kingston Arts (was Kingston Arts Council), ‘Me and We’ and KVA (was KCVS). Thay is also a keen cricketer and squash player, having set up Surrey Seamers Club in Surbiton which has two cricket teams, and he helped initiate the RBK Councillors and Staff vs KREC Cricket event in July 2005.