James Ashley (21 May 1940 – 12 August 2006) was a

Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...

politician in the city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was the

Lord Mayor of Manchester This is a list of the Lord Mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England. Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester Mayor. The Current and 124th Lord Mayor is Cllr Donna Ludford, Labour who has served Sinc ...

and a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

in the

Gorton South Gorton South is a defunct Local Government ward in the Gorton area of the City of Manchester. The population of Gorton South ward at the 2011 census was 19,615. Under boundary changes by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Personal life

James Ashley was born in Manchester in 1940 and lived in

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hi ...

, one of three sons. He was married in 1966 and had four children. He enjoyed watercolour painting in his spare time.

Career

Ashley was appointed to the Manchester City bench in 1971 and served as a magistrate for 34 years. Ashley was the deputy president for the Manchester South Valuation Tribunal, an independent voluntary lay tribunal that resolves disputes concerning local taxes. He made political history in 1987, becoming the first Liberal Democrat councillor to win a seat from Labour on the city council. He served as a Councillor for Gorton South from 1987 to 2006. Ashley was Lord Mayor of Manchester from 17 May 2006, to 12 August 2006. He died in office at age 66.

Achievements

Councillor Ashley was instrumental in the creation of the Gorton Heritage Trail along the Gore Bank Valley conservation area. His voluntary work included Victim Support, Gorton Community Forum, Blackley Civic Society, Charlestown Tenants and Residents Association, and the Management Committee of Sacred Heart Community Hall. Ashley had been a member of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Building Section and was a member of the Northwest Regional Advisory Committee for Building and Civil Engineering.

References

Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors 1940 births 2006 deaths Lord Mayors of Manchester {{England-politician-stub