Billy Bell (politician)

For other uses, see Billy Bell (disambiguation).

Billy Bell OBE, JP
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Lagan Valley
In office 25 June 1998 – 7 March 2007
Preceded by	New Creation
Succeeded by	Basil McCrea
Personal details
Born	09 October 1935 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Died	09 June 2020 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Resting place	Dundonald Cemetery
Political party	Ulster Unionist Party
Website	Profile, archive.org

William Bradshaw Bell, OBE, JP (born 9 October 1935 – died 9 June 2020), was a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland and former Lord Mayor of Belfast.

He served as a Councillor on Belfast City Council from 1976 to 1985 and was Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1979 to 1980. He also served on Lisburn Council (1989–2007) and was Mayor of the City of Lisburn in 2003.

He was Personal Assistant to MP Rt Hon Sir James Molyneaux from 1976 to 1997. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (1975–1976) for North Belfast, and to the Northern Ireland Assembly for the Lagan Valley constituency in 1998 and again in 2003. In 1996 he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Northern Ireland Forum election in Lagan Valley. Bell stood in the 2007 election after re-selection by his party, however he lost his seat to fellow UUP candidate, Basil McCrea.

He was appointed a Justice of the peace in 1985, and is a former member of the Northern Ireland Housing Council.

External links

• NI Assembly biography, archive.org; accessed 27 February 2017.