OBITUARY: Paul Orr.

SOME people call modern politicians pygmies. But you wouldn't have said that to the man who faced the shaving mirror at 6ft 4ins to crop his moustache to the style expected of a former Irish Guardsman.

For this was the cabinetchested figure who defended steadfastly on the mud of the football field and threw one of the hardest punches in amateur boxing, fathering 12 children along the way.

To those children he had been a fair father, teaching them to say 'please' and 'thank you' and to stand up when people walked in a room.

For Paul Orr, usually in his heavy-rimmed glasses, stood up for the common man, but he did so in a manner of unfailing courtesy.

He served on Liverpool City Council from 1956 until 2000, with a short break in the early 1960s. In 1977/78, Orr was Lord Mayor.

His first two election victories were in the Abercromby ward, but after that he represented Vauxhall, in the heart of the old city.

It was a span of history which saw Liverpool recovering from the war to embrace Merseybeat and popular culture, but there were crippling dock strikes, the rise of flats and the fall of streets.

Then came the era of Militant control. Orr had little time for their shenanigans and he was one of the 'sensible six' who opposed the setting of the illegal budget in 1984, which led to 47 councillors being surcharged and expelled from public office for five years.

He had no more sympathy with Tony Blair and resigned from the Labour Party before the 2000 election, unsuccessfully contesting Vauxhall as an independent.

In 2004, Orr was made an honorary alderman by the council.

As a devout Liverpool supporter, he had been deeply upset by both the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters. But the club's great domestic and European successes brought him joy, as did his chairmanship of Kirkby Town which became Knowsley United.

Orr was a manager at Guinness Exports in Norfolk Street, Liverpool. He served with the Irish Guards in World War II.

After his wife, Maggie, died 12 years ago, he lived in the Eldonian Village, Vauxhall

Paul Orr, politician; born August 25, 1916, died April 19, 2005

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Publication:	Daily Post (Liverpool, England)
Date:	Apr 20, 2005
Words:	369
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