Congratulations to longstanding campaigner Richard Kemp who has been sworn in as Lord Mayor of Liverpool, having served a year as Deputy Lord Mayor. This year his wife, Erica, will support him as Lady Mayoress – she was Lord Mayor herself 10 years ago.

Richard was first elected to Liverpool City Council, in 1975. Since then he has been a councillor for 47 years, and was Leader of the Lib Dem group until last year.

Many of us in local government have had much to thank Richard for in a wider context. He was Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Local Government and Vice Chair of the Local Government Association. He now acts as an adviser to local Councils on behalf of the LGA.

He was awarded CBE in 2011. Erica also has a CBE, and they are the only married couple to both have that honour – so this is a true power couple.

Richard is frequently seen at party conference, injecting his practical good sense into debates and fringe meetings. His extensive knowledge of local government makes him the go-to person whenever issues for local Councils is being discussed.

He has blogged about his mayoral appointment “Will you help me to be a good Lord Mayor!?, and writes:

I am absolutely thrilled at this honour. To be the leading citizen of a City which I love is an honour beyond anything else. I came to Liverpool 49 years ago in May 1974 to work for David (now Lord Alton) and became a councillor in May 1975 for what was then the St Michaels Ward. I have since then represented Dingle, Picton and Church Wards under a range of reorganisations. I am now the sole councillor for the fabulous and internationally known Penny Lane Ward.

My aim for the year is to spend as little time as possible as Lord Mayor in the Town Hall and as much time as possible in the community meeting people doing all the good things that they do to make our city strong, resilient and the best city in the world.

* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.