Tributes pour in for Councillor Marilyn Greenwood who was a champion for her community

Coun Greenwood was first elected to her Greetland and Stainland seat for the Liberal Democrats in 2014 with a 60-vote majority, a margin which increased tenfold when she was re-elected in 2018.

Liberal Democrat group leader Coun James Baker said her party colleagues were so saddened to hear she had passed away and the group’s tribute to her said Coun Greenwood was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and daughter.

On social media her fellow Liberal Democrat Sean Bamforth said: “She was a real fighter, a woman who put the people she represented above everything.”

Coun Greenwood was a dedicated councillor who fought hard for what she believed was right and aimed to improve people’s lives, said the Liberal Democrat group.

This included important issues ranging from Calderdale’s draft Local Plan, where with her husband Ed she raised concerns about proposals for the ward, to ensuring children’s access to dentistry has been placed at the centre of Calderdale’s health agenda.

During the pandemic Coun Greenwood thought of others first, working to set up a volunteer network to help vulnerable local residents she represented.

Her party’s tribute said she was: “A remarkable woman with many talents, a singer, a marathon runner and recently an author of a book titled The Whistler: A Harrowing True Story.

“Marilyn will be missed by many but remembered by more.”

Labour Leader of the Council, Coun Tim Swift said: “She was incredibly passionate about anything she got involved with and she will be hugely missed by all sides.”

Conservative councillor Howard Blagbrough (Brighouse) said her loss was great: “She was an outstanding councillor and my thoughts and prayers go to Ed and her family.”

On social media other tributes ranging from friends at The Piece Hall in Halifax, to West Yorkshire Police’s Inspector Ben Doughty, who said “she always constructively held police and partners to account, striving for the best for her community”, have been paid.