Councillor John Shipley, OBE
John Shipley represents Parklands Ward and was first elected as a Councillor in May 1975.
From 1978 – 1998 John was Leader of the Liberal and then Liberal Democrat group on the Council and Leader of the Opposition for ten years from 1988-1998.
In addition to his responsibilities as a City Councillor during this period, John Shipley stood as a Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Party in 1974 (Blyth twice), Hexham 1979, Newcastle North 1983 and 1987.
Since the local elections in May 2004 when the Liberal Democrats became the majority party, John was a member of the ten-strong Executive as the Portfolio holder for Policy Co-ordination and Development. He now Chairs the Executive, following his appointment as Leader of the Council in May 2006.
John represents the City Council on a number of outside bodies including the Northern Way Steering Group and English Core Cities, Tyne and Wear Development Company Ltd. Board of Directors and the Theatre Royal Trust Limited of which he is Chair. He was appointed a Board Member of One NorthEast in December 2005.
John spent his early years in Whitby, North Yorkshire and after graduating in History from University College London in 1969, John has lived and worked in Newcastle. He retired as Regional Director of The Open University in 2005. He was awarded an OBE in the 1995 New Year’s Honours List.
John is married with two children. His interests include music, theatre, local history and the First World War.
Duties of the Leader
The duties of the Leader of the Council are set out in the Newcastle Charter which contains the documents which make up the Council's constitution.
The Deputy Leader of the Council is Councillor David Faulkner
See also:| Executive | Vision and Values | Taking Newcastle Forward |
Leader of the Council's Office
There are three members of staff based in the Leader's Office, which is located on the committee corridor in the Civic Centre.