Stephen Brady (born in Hull in 1945) was the

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

Hull City Council (Kingston upon) Hull City Council is the governing body for the unitary authority and city of Kingston upon Hull. It was created in 1972 as the successor to the Corporation of (Kingston upon) Hull, which was also known as Hull Corporation and fou ...

, a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, from 2011 for the Labour Party. He stepped down from the position after the 2021 election. In 2018 he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) following the success of Hull UK City of Culture 2017.

Life and work

Stephen Brady, known as Steve Brady, was born in Hull in 1945. His father was a dock worker who served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the Second World War. He is of Irish descent. In his teens he was a member of the

Young Christian Workers The Young Christian Workers (YCW; french: Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne) is an international organization founded by Rev. Joseph Cardijn in Belgium as the Young Trade Unionists; the organization adopted its present name in 1924. Its French acronym ...

. Brady spent much of his working life at BP,

Saltend Salt End or Saltend is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated on the north bank of the Humber Estuary just outside the Hull eastern boundary on the A1033 road. It forms part of the civ ...

, near Hull and later ran a newsagents shop in East Hull. A long-time trade unionist and Labour Party member, he was elected Councillor of Southcoates Ward (formerly Southcoates West Ward) in 2000 and became Leader of the Labour Group in 2007.

As council leader

Since becoming Council Leader in 2011, Brady has been praised for his leadership as the city gained improvements in the areas of investment, industry, green energy, employment prospects, and cultural events. Hull was selected as

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a city (or a local area from 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneration for the ye ...

for 2017, a decision widely received with scepticism and cynicism initially. The event met with considerable success and acclaim and resulted in verifiable, lasting benefits for the city such as jobs, investment, increased visitor numbers, unprecedented media coverage, and widespread community participation. Though he was re-elected to his post as council leader in 2019 to serve through to 2022, Brady announced in May 2021 he was to stand down as leader that month, following

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

where the party had lost seats to the opposition Liberal Democrats. Brady was awarded the OBE in the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to local government.

Personal and family life

Brady has been married for nearly fifty years and has six children. He lives at the family home in East Hull. His uncle Charles (Charlie) Brady (1916–1992) and aunt Frances (Grogan) (1916–2013) also served as councillors in Hull during the 1960s and 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Stephen 1945 births Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire English people of Irish descent British socialists Politicians from Kingston upon Hull Leaders of local authorities of England