Thursday 22 December 2011

In memoriam Cllr Nick Macy


Nicholas (Nick) Macy joined my group of Liberal Democrat councillors in Harlow in 1999, following his election as councillor for what was then Mark Hall South ward. I'd known him for some years before that, however, and his son Jonathan's description of him at his funeral yesterday as 'unique' hit the nail firmly on the head.

Nick was a learned man; he was a company secretary by profession, but he had read history at Oxford, and one of his favourite 'party tricks' when collecting voters' numbers at the polling station was to read the voter's electoral number and list the historical events that had taken place in that year. He loved learning and finding out new things, and I remember his genuine pleasure when I introduced him to a new word, 'genizeh', which he hadn't previously known. What could be perceived as argumentativeness was just part of his real love for knowledge and desire to test and probe theories and assertions.

Nick was a member of the Liberal Party from the age of 14, and was a liberal to his core. He was deeply loyal to his political colleagues and absolutely committed to the values of his party. He was the first ever non-Labour chair of Harlow District Council, and didn't allow his speech impediment to prevent him from carrying out such a high-profile public role in his local community. And he kept the local party's printing society going, with many hours devoted not just to churning paper through the Risograph but also maintaining and submitting the society's accounts.

But what always impressed me most about Nick was his joy in his role as paterfamilias - husband to Caroline, father to Eleanor (also a councillor for some years) and Jonathan and Philip, and grandfather to Katie and Timothy. He was a real family man, and I know that they will all miss him enormously.

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