Nicholas David Bye, commonly known as Nick Bye, is a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
local politician in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Bye was born in
Paignton
Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...
,
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
and graduated from
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. He was
Liberal candidate for
Torbay
Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of ...
in the
1987 election.
Bye served on
Torbay Council
Torbay Council is the local authority for Torbay, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a count ...
for five years and served a term as civic mayor in 2003–04.
In October 2005, he became the first
directly elected mayor of Torbay. He beat
Liberal Democrat Nicholas Pannell in the second round of counting with a total of 7,096 votes to Pannell's 5,197. After the election, Bye noted that "it is quite clear from canvassing that a lot of people did not want an elected mayor."
Bye was the Conservative Party's third directly elected mayor, after
Chris Morgan and
Linda Arkley in
North Tyneside
North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend.
North Tyneside is bordered by Ne ...
and the first directly elected mayor in the
South West. In 2008 fellow Conservative
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
was elected as the first Conservative mayor of London.
Bye was one of three contenders for the Totnes Conservative candidacy, after the announcement by
Anthony Steen that he will not stand in the next election. He placed third in the
Totnes primary, and defeated by
Sarah Wollaston
Sarah Wollaston (born 17 February 1962) is a British former Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Totnes from 2010 to 2019. First elected for the Conservative Party, she later served as a Change UK and Libera ...
.
Bye was the subject of a complaint to Torbay Council's standards committee in August 2010, over the proposed development of a large housing estate on land currently being occupied by Churston Golf Club. This complaint relates to his interests in Eric Lloyd & Co Estate Agents, the only estate agency business with an office in Churston. In 2006 Bye registered the fact that he had a financial interest in the company, and council documents have also shown he is entitled to a profit related bonus from the company.
On 12 November 2010, Bye confirmed that he would be seeking to stand as Mayor of Torbay for a further 4 years however he was deselected by the Conservative Party in favour of former independent candidate, Gordon Oliver, and stood for re-election as an independent. He failed to secure re-election in May 2011, losing to his Conservative opponent Gordon Oliver.
By 2014 Bye had rejoined the Conservative Party; he stood as Conservative candidate for the Wellswood ward of Torbay Council in the
2015 local elections.
References
External links
Official profileBBC News
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bye, Nicholas
1960 births
Living people
People from Paignton
Mayors of places in Devon
Conservative Party (UK) mayors
Conservative Party (UK) councillors
Councillors in Devon