Sir Owen Trevor Jones[1] (17 December 1926 – 8 September 2016) was a British Liberal Democrat politician and member of the Liverpool City Council.
[3] Jones was brought into politics in 1966 when a proposed ring road threatened the demolition of his chandlery business' warehouse.
Due to party tensions in the council, Labour chaired the majority of committees in 1979-80 but he won the vote to remain leader, serving until Labour gained overall control of the council in 1983, before becoming leader again for 2 months in 1987 at the head of a temporary administration when 49 Labour councillors were surcharged and disqualified from office by the district auditor after refusing to set a rate.
In the 1960s he developed new campaigning strategies including the delivery of Focus – the leaflet based on local issues that electors’ identified with – that is still ubiquitous for Lib Dems.
During that year, he took a high profile in the parliamentary by-elections the party fought, overseeing four victories: Sutton and Cheam, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Ripon and Isle of Ely.
[2] He was also heavily involved in the by-election win at Liverpool Edge Hill by David Alton in 1979 with a 36% swing.