Graham Bober
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G. F. D. Bober ("Graham") (born 4 July 1946) is a British politician in the ancient Borough of Colchester in the county of Essex. He has served as Mayor of Colchester, as Director of the Colchester Co-operative Society, and as Father of the Chapel for the printworkers' union. He is an Alderman of the Borough.
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[edit] Mayor of Colchester
Bober served as Mayor of Colchester from 1988 to 1989.
During his tenure, he launched the 800th anniversary celebrations of the borough's Royal Charter, and conducted 400th anniversary celebrations of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. He was presented with the key to the city of Lawrence, Kansas.
His official guests to the Colchester's civic Oyster Feast in 1988 included the author Germaine Greer, the journalist Katherine Whitehorn, the serving General Secretary of the TUC Norman Willis, the former General Secretary of the TGWU Jack Jones, the actor Stratford Johns, and the comedian Griff Rhys Jones. His mayoral charities included the Army Benevolent Fund, Shelter, and Age Concern.
Bober served as Deputy Mayor of Colchester from 1987 to 1988.
[edit] Colchester Borough Councillor
Bober served as the Councillor for Colchester's St Andrews ward from 1972 until his retirement from the council in 1994. The St Andrews ward is better known to Colchester residents as the Greenstead Estate. The ward contains the highest concentration of public housing in the Borough. The first council-owned houses were built here during the 1950s, with significant additions throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The ward takes its name from the old St Andrews church. There are two primary schools on the estate (St Andrews and Hazlemere) and a secondary school (Sir Charles Lucas).
On his retirement from the council in 1994 he was elected as a honorary Alderman of the Borough.
[edit] Labour Party
Bober joined the Labour Party in 1961. He served as a local Councillor, and as Chairman of the Constituency Labour Party, and as Leader of the Labour Group on Colchester Borough Council. He resigned from the Labour Party in 2004 following his continued opposition to Labour government policy over Iraq. He remains a member of the Co-operative Party.
In the 1970s the hard left accused me of being too right wing, and now the hard right accuse me of being too left wing. I haven't changed. They have.
– G. F. D. Bober, 2004
[edit] Co-operative Movement
Bober is a serving Director of the Colchester and East Essex Co-operative Society. He is a past President of the Board of Directors. Colchester Co-op was founded in 1861. Today the society is the largest independent retail chain in the region with a net asset value of £65 million.
Bober is a serving Director of the Co-operatives UK (formerly the Co-operative Union. The Co-operative Union is the central organization for co-operative enterprises in the United Kingdom. He is a member of the Governance Review Group. The body is charged with the revision of the existing corporate governance code of best practice. [1]
He is a member of the Co-operative Party and served as a Labour/Co-op councillor on Colchester Borough Council.
[edit] Local Historian
Bober is an enthusiastic local historian. He is a collector of Colchester folklore, such as his story of the murder of the landlord's daughter at the Alexandra public house around the year 1845. He is a blue badge guide. He is a strong supporter of the Colchester museums and the arts. He was an early proponent of the need for a military museum for the Colchester garrison to ensure preservation of the town’s military heritage and Victorian architecture. He is the author of a history of Spottiswoode & Ballantyne printers.
[edit] Spottiswoode & Ballantyne
Bober was a compositor for Spottiswoode & Ballantyne printers ("Spotts") for 35-years. He served as Father of the Chapel for the National Graphical Association (latterly the Graphical, Paper and Media Union).
He is fond of print industry metaphors that also have Masonic overtones, "As we gather around the stone...".
[edit] Tony Blair anecdote
During the 1992 General Election campaign, Graham toured the then Shadow Employment Secretary Tony Blair around Spotts. He claims, anecdotally, that the future Prime Minister commented, So this is what a factory looks like.
