Former Lothian Regional Council leader John Mulvey dies, aged 80
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
He served as a councillor for 12 years, leading the Labour group for eight and the council for four. He had been unwell for some time and died on January 5, a week short of his 81st birthday. A former colleague described him as "one of the best politicians I've ever met".
John Mulvey was first elected to Lothian Regional Council, representing Wester Hailes, in 1978 He narrowly defeated sitting councillor and respected SNP figure Stephen Maxwell to take the seat.


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Hide AdHe was part of a new generation of Labour councillors at the time. The party was in control of the region and battling with Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government over the council’s large rates rises and her demand for spending cuts.
Mr Mulvey was re-elected in 1982 and became leader of the Labour group. But the party had lost four seats and faced the dilemma of doing a deal with the SDP and Libedals to stay in power or going into opposition. They voted 14-8 against a deal and a coalition of Tories, SDP and Liberals took control.
Labour returned to power with a large majority in 1986 and Mr Mulvey became council leader. The Tories were still in charge at Westminster and he led the fight against council cuts and a range of other policies.
Keith Geddes, a fellow Labour councillor at the time, said: "We had to deal with the consequences of the poll tax, which was very difficult for John and for us all. The controversy was if you didn't collect the poll tax you wouldn't be able to pay for home helps and teachers, so in the end we had to do it, but thankfully it was defeated before too long."
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Hide AdMr Mulvey stepped down and retired from the council in 1990. Mr Geddes said: "Some of us tried to convince him to carry on, but he felt he'd done his time.
"John was very strong on community empowerment and social policy. He was very committed to his own constituency and a very assiduous worker. He spent a lot of time over and above his duties.
“He was genuinely liked within the Labour group, whatever your position was. He was a great person to work to, he was very serious about his work but he always told us not to take ourselves too seriously."
Other members of the region Labour group at the time included future Chancellor Alistair Darling, David Martin, who went on to be Lothian MEP and Eric Milligan, who served two terms as Edinburgh's Lord Provost.
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Hide AdJimmy Burnett, another regional councillor, had also worked with Mr Mulvey at Edinburgh Council of Social Services before he became a councillor.
"We worked with tenants' action groups and dampness campaigns and fighting the creation of the West Approach Road - we were lead community workers on that, working with the action group.
"He was a wonderful bloke, a great friend and one of the best politicians I’ve ever met. He always led from the front, but consulted fully and was a total democrat - when it came to Labour group meetings, he always involved everybody.
"He was very active during the miners' strike, when he was leading the opposition at the regional council, and was able to get significant support for the miners' action group from the council."
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Hide AdAfter leaving the council, Mr Mulvey worked for different voluntary organisations and anti-poverty campaigns, working with groups in Pilton and elsewhere.
He also backed the Yes campaign in the 2014 independence referendum, arguing that after the achievements of devolution, independence was "the next logical step" for Scotland.
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