TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Keighley Labour councillor and one-time Parliamentary candidate who has died aged 80.

Alan Rye represented Keighley South ward on Bradford Council for over eight years during the 1980s, and became chair of the social services committee and leader of the Labour group.

Achievements included helping to ensure the survival of Keighley Picture House, and Strong Close Nursery in the town, when they were threatened with closure.

In 1987, Mr Rye – who, at 6ft 6, was known to friends as Lofty – stood as the Labour Party’s Parliamentary candidate for Keighley, losing out to sitting Conservative MP Gary Waller.

Former Keighley Labour MP and current Parliamentary candidate, John Grogan, says: "‘Many people have remarked to me that Alan was the best MP Keighley never had.

"For many years he was Bob Cryer’s right-hand man and then a much-loved and respected local councillor in his own right. In the finest Yorkshire tradition he always called a spade a spade and I recall he was the first to explain to me in no uncertain terms how damaging an incinerator would be for Keighley."

After studying at university and attending teaching college, Mr Rye – who was originally from London – embarked on travels to the Arctic Circle and overland to British Columbia.

He married his wife Sheila in 1966, after which they moved to the north of England so he could take up a teaching post at the former Keighley Technical College.

Also on the college teaching staff was future Labour MP Bob Cryer, and the two became lifelong friends.

After a spell teaching at South Craven School in Cross Hills, Mr Rye found himself ever more immersed in Keighley’s political life.

A fellow activist, Richard Lindley, says: "He was a superb local councillor, working tirelessly for his constituents. He was always on call and ready to help."

In 1988, both men enrolled as mature students at Leeds Polytechnic to read law and train as solicitors.

On qualification, Mr Rye launched a successful career in the not-for-profit sector, working at Bradford Law Centre and for Citizens Advice, specialising in housing and employment law.

His interests outside work and politics included cycling, walking, sailing, bird watching and gardening. He served as a volunteer gardener at East Riddlesden Hall.

Shortly before the pandemic lockdown, his health began to deteriorate as a result of a neurological condition which gradually deprived him of his physical capabilities.

Family friend Eleanor Fisher told a packed celebration of his life at Oakworth Crematorium: "As a natural talker and doer, Lofty adapted to this debilitating illness with incredible stoicism. His eyes would flash in recognition, amusement or enjoyment – he remained, as always, good company."

Memorial donations are going to the Multiple System Atrophy Trust and Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Mr Rye is survived by wife Sheila, children Tom and Hannah and grandchildren Ayla and Volkan.