Chief Reporter Lesley Tate looks back at the 36 years of service

by former city councillor and Lord Mayor

Graham Kirkland, who recently lost his seat on the council

COUNCILLOR Dr Graham Kirkland is probably one of an elite few who can claim he was once considered more of a catch than the future King of England.

Four years ago, when he was Lord Mayor of Leeds, he was part of the welcoming committee for the Prince on a visit to the Leeds Royal Armouries.

Just as the Prince approached the waiting Coun Kirkland, a woman determined to bag a picture of the Lord Mayor barged her way through.

"She was carrying a baby in one arm, and with the other was somehow managing to smoke a cigarette, drink a can of coke and hold a camera. She turned to Prince Charles and asked him if I was the Lord Mayor because she wanted a picture.

"She then asked Prince Charles who he was. The Prince handed her cigarette to his detective and said she might be able to take a better picture that way. The woman took her picture, but didn't seem at all impressed," said Coun Kirkland.

Coun Kirkland, 66, is just coming to terms with no longer being a Leeds city councillor for Otley and Wharfedale after 36 years. A committed Liberal Democrat, he lost his seat at the recent local council elections to Conservative Gerard Francis.

He was first elected to the city council in 1967 and has been a member ever since - apart from the four years from 1976 to 1980 - the only other time he lost out to the Conservative's Coun Francis.

During his 36 years he has seen a great many changes and has the honour of being the only Otley councillor to have ever been made the Lord Mayor of Leeds from 1998 to 1999.

"Being Lord Mayor was definitely the highlight, it was good from start to finish, people were always pleased to see us and were very helpful," he said.

With his wife, Dr Joan Kirkland, Coun Kirkland as Lord Mayor visited China and Germany, went on Concorde when it flew into Leeds Bradford Airport, toured the aircraft carrier the Ark Royal at Portsmouth, visited hundreds of schools and dropped in on the 100th birthday parties of 63 women and three men.

"We met every member of the Royal family except Edward and visiting schools was great.

"I remember going to this school for difficult children and this boy took hold of the medallion on my chain of office and asked how much it was worth.

"Kids just loved seeing the Lord Mayor, they were also fascinated with the ermine on the robe, although it was always a bit iffy because it was real.

"But once they found out it was from the 1880s they didn't really mind."

A highlight of his year as Lord Mayor was his visit to China where he and his wife spent a week.

"We went to Hangchou, which is twinned with Leeds.

"It was a fantastic and unbelievable place.

"We went to one place which didn't even have any sewers. Even though the place was bigger than Leeds, people were still washing their clothes in the river."

Coun and Mrs Kirkland had a police escort where ever they went in China and on one occasion saw their escort was forced off the road and into a ditch by a cyclist.

They were taken cormorant fishing, where a cormorant with a rope around its neck did the fishing, and took part in bamboo dancing.

"We saw this young girl taking pictures and thought she was just a tourist, later we found out we were on national television," said Coun Kirkland.

As a young councillor and family doctor back in 1967, he believes councillors worked much harder back then.

"The councillors all attended meetings back then and there was no help whatsoever for anyone in writing letters. There were no allowances for paper or stamps and all the meetings were held in the evenings, I was working 24 hours a day."

Daytime meetings only started in 1973 with the birth of the modern Leeds City Council.

People's expectations of the council have also changed with fewer and fewer people going to their councillors for help.

"Sixty per cent of people voted at my first election and it did get up to 70 per cent, now we only have 30 per cent.

"People don't bother because they think Leeds is so remote and that nothing can be done."

Coun Kirkland retains his seat on Otley Town Council and although all three Otley and Wharfedale councillors will be up for re-election next May, he has not yet decided whether or not to seek re-election.

With the boundary changes expected to be announced in July, the new Otley ward could mean the loss of Bramhope - with its high number of Conservative voters.

As he is no longer a city councillor, Coun Kirkland has lost his position on the West Yorkshire Fire Authority. He was the only original member still left on the committee from when it was first formed in 1986.

It is one of the regrets of his time on the city council that he never managed to persuade the city council to fit sprinkler systems in the remodelled Otley primary schools.

"There were 62 arson attacks in Otley between April last year and April this year and it is something that really concerns me.

"If they don't catch the people responsible pretty soon, someone is going to get killed," he said.

As a town councillor, Coun Kirkland hopes that the new council, which now features six Liberal Democrats, six Labour, two Conservatives and one independent, will achieve things this year.

And topics likely to take up his time are plans to build a new library next to Otley Post Office, the future of Otley Civic Centre and the appalling state of the roads.

"The trouble is people see the resurfaced roads in Leeds and the newly painted lines and they don't understand why it's not the same in Otley."

As for the much needed new library and tourist information office, he believes there is more than enough city council owned buildings that could be sold off to pay for a new building.

After 36 years, Coun Kirkland is looking at his large garden and has been booked up for babysitting duties, but it will be difficult for him not to remain as committed to council matters as he has for more than half his life.