Over on newburytoday.co.uk, there is a fine obituary of Paul Hannon, former LibDem leader of Newbury District Council.

The piece includes this tribute to Paul from Lord Benyon, former MP for Newbury:

I was leader of the Tory group on Newbury District Council and leader of the opposition when he was leader of the council and found him to be a very effective political operator. He and I would often go to the pub [The Dolphin] after a council meeting and resolve many issues over a pint of beer….He was a gifted politician and powerful speaker. He could be very combative, but was totally straight and when he said something would happen it did. I enjoyed being able to work with him, even though he was always a creature of the left. I was of the centre right. That didn’t stop us getting on. It taught me how to work across the floor, which I found very useful in coalition government.

You can read the obituary in full here.

I had some dealings with Paul in the early 1990s, including joining him for a day travelling to and attending an ALDC conference in Leamington Spa. I found him to be extremely engaging and intelligent – a passionate liberal/Liberal. He is remembered as a very effective leader of Newbury District Council. Of course, there are also fond memories of Paul’s first wife, Sally, who sadly passed away in 2007.

We extend our sincere sympathy to Siobhan as well as the rest of Paul’s family and his friends.

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.