Barbara Olwyn Ronson (16 December 1942 – 28 October 2018) was a

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

politician from

Horwich Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It ...

in the

Metropolitan Borough of Bolton The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton ( ) is a metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, named after its largest town, Bolton, but covering a larger area which includes Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley, Westhoughton, and part of ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

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.Barbara Olwyn Ronson
''Links in a chain''. accessed 11 January 2009.

Early life

Born as Barbara Olwyn Gettins in

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, she was educated at Pikes Lane School, Bolton;

Bolton School Bolton School is a private day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery (ages 0–4), co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including ...

(Girls Division); Manchester College of Commerce (now

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

); and Bolton Institute of Higher Education (now the

University of Bolton The University of Greater Manchester (legally: The University of Bolton Higher Education Corporation) is a public university in Bolton, Greater Manchester in England. The university is commonly referred to as a 'post-92' institution, which is a ...

). In 1964, she married Robert Ronson at Saviour's Church in Bolton.

Political career

Barbara Ronson was elected as a Councillor to Bolton Borough Council in 1986; at first representing the Horwich ward and then, through name and slight boundary changes in 2004, the Horwich North East ward.Councillors / Officers
. ''Horwich Town Council''. accessed 11 January 2009. She was also elected as a Councillor to

Horwich Town Council Horwich Town Council is a local authority with limited powers and covers the town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is made up of fourteen elected Town ...

in 1987. Her husband, Robert Ronson, was also a town and Borough Councillor. In the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and 2001 General Elections, she was an unsuccessful candidate in the Bolton West Constituency. During her political career, she was Mayor of Horwich 1996–1997,

Leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

of Bolton Council 2004–2006, and Mayor of Bolton 2007–2008. Both Barbara and Robert Ronson stood down as town and Borough Councillors in 2011.

Death

Barbara Ronson died in hospital on 28 October 2018, aged 75 years. In the same year, her son Mike died on 13 June 2018, aged 51 years, and her husband Robert (Bob) died on 3 December 2018, aged 83 years.

References

External links

Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Barbara Ronson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronson, Barbara 1942 births 2018 deaths Politicians from Bolton People from Horwich People educated at Bolton School Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Women mayors of places in England Mayors of Bolton Liberal Democrats (UK) mayors Councillors in Bolton Leaders of local authorities of England Women councillors in England