IT may not be one of the largest conciliatory gestures ever made, but Bradford Labour group's change of heart over the post of Lord Mayor comes at the right time of year.

In the divisive days of Eric Pickles, politics in Bradford was marked by acrimony inside the council chamber and violent protest outside.

It was not a good time for either Labour or Tory as local authority policy was not so much debated as used as a large stick to beat each other with.

We all remember the large metal security gates which had to be constructed at the members' entrance to City Hall to protect them from harm.

The use of the Lord Mayor's casting vote to push through a Thatcherite agenda flew in the face of tradition and although the Tories felt they had no choice if they wanted to revolutionise City Hall, it led to a legacy of bitterness which has still not been forgotten, or forgiven, in some circles.

However, as the slim Tory majority on Bradford Council evaporated and Eric Pickles took the train south for his safe Parliamentary seat, many people in the Bradford district were left wondering how such acrimonious divisions could occur among people who ostensibly have the well-being of the area uppermost in their minds?

Of course, when Labour regained control of the Bradford they took their revenge by monopolising the post of Lord Mayor with the excuse that the Tories had misused the post.

In a town like Ilkley, however, the ceremonial aspects of the office of Lord Mayor are far more important that political infighting. Labour Lord Mayors over the past few years have enjoyed a welcome as warm in Ilkley as anywhere else in the district.

It is time the bitterness of the Pickles era was buried for good in the spirit of co-operation and goodwill. The nomination of the first Liberal Democrat or Tory Lord Mayor in Bradford in ten years will go some way towards achieving that aim.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.