A biographical outline of the Deputy Lord Mayor 2012-2013
Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Mike Gibbons
Councillor Gibbons was born and spent much of his school and early adult life in the Worcestershire and Midlands area.
Working in the retail sector, he was a manager at 19 and a company director by the age of 23.
Councillor Gibbons moved to Ilkley in 1981 and soon became involved in the life of the area and, with his wife Janet, became owners of a pharmacy business in the town.
Councillor Gibbons became involved in local politics after joining the Ilkley Conservative Association in 1983 and became their youngest ever Chairman two years later. He went on to become Constituency Chairman for a six year period.
Councillor Gibbons has been a Member of Ilkley Parish Council for twenty one years, serving on all of its sub-Committees and has held the post of Chairman three times. He has also been a foundation Governor of Ilkley and Prince Henry’s Grammar Schools and he has for nine years led the Parish Council’s campaign to save services at the Coronation Hospital and he is also the organiser of the annual ‘Concert on The Grove’ in Ilkley in late August.
As the Parish Council’s representative, Councillor Gibbons is an active supporter of the Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts, together with helping organise concerts for the Denis Sharp Bursary Fund, which supports children wishing to further their musical and dramatic art skills.
For the last year, Councillor Gibbons has been Chairman of Bradford Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, work which he takes very seriously in the interests of all whose use the services of the local NHS.
Mike has two adult children, Amy and Robert, and in his leisure time he enjoys travelling, photography and quality music of various styles.
In terms of dietary preferences, Councillor Gibbons dislikes cheese, ginger and overly spiced (hot) food.
