Billy Bell

Who is Billy Bell?

William Bradshaw "Billy" Bell, OBE, JP, is 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 and was Mayor of the City of Lisburn in 2003, the only person to be mayor of two different Cities in the United Kingdom.

He was Personal Assistant to MP Rt Hon Sir James Molyneaux from 1976 to 1997. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention for North Belfast, and to the Northern Ireland Assembly for the Lagan Valley constituency in 1998 and again in 2003. 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.