A VETERAN politician who fought for his hometown of Darwen has died.

Roy Davies died on Tuesday aged 73 from liver cancer in the Royal Blackburn Hospital.
He was represented Sudell ward and then Darwen East ward on Blackburn with Darwen Council from June 2004 to May this year with a short break in 2015.

Mr Davies remained a member of Darwen Town Council having served as its Mayor from 2017 to 2019. He leaves wife Hazel, 63, and two sons Mark, 31 and Adam, 25. His middle son Timothy died of leukaemia aged 12 more than 25 years ago.

Mr Davies’s Liberal Democrat colleague Cllr Paul Browne said: “Roy was a really great person and a very good councillor. He was part of t he fabric of Darwen.

“For Roy it was always Darwen first and politics second.

“When he put his mind to it, he got things done and did not mind who he upset on the way.
“His passing is very, very sad news indeed.”

Cllr John Slater, the leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council Conservative group, said: “Roy was a great servant of the Liberal Democrat party and a great servant and true champion of Darwen. He will be sadly missed.”

Mark, who joined his father as a town councillor for Darwen East ward in May, said: “My father was very determined and knew what he wanted and always went after it. He was a great dad and a great husband. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in November and had been in the Royal Blackburn Hospital for six weeks when he passed away on Tuesday.

“He always tried to do his best for people and for the people of Darwen in particular. People loved him.

“Dad was a big figure in Darwen and will be greatly missed by us and by Darreners.

Cllr Mohammed Khan, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “Roy was a hard-working, dedicated and passionate councillor and was devoted to supporting the borough’s local communities. His tireless work for Darwen is remembered and felt by many people.

“As Mayor of Darwen, he raised a considerable amount of money for food poverty and schools in the area.”

Cllr Davies was born in Back Duckworth Street, Darwen, to parents James and Ada.

He attended boarding school before joining Chapman Envelopes in Lower Darwen, where he worked for more than 40 years working his way up from the shop floor to becoming a shift manager.

Mr Davies met his wife Hazel, also Darwen-born, in the Ellenshaw pub in the town’s Tithebarn Street, and they married in 1980.