PLYMOUTH'S oldest councillor has retired at the age of 95.

Bernard 'Claude' Miller, who has been a Labour councillor for 29 years and was Lord Mayor in 2005, is said to be suffering from Alzheimer's.

Cllr Miller, who is quitting his Efford and Lipson seat on the council a year early, will trigger a by-election, which is expected to be held on the same day as the normal council elections, May 6.

Fellow councillor Andy Kerswell, who is also Cllr Miiller's carer, said: "I have known him since I was a toddler.

"He and his wife Nora used to run the community centre in Blandford Road when it was first built.

"He is a genuine person. He is honest, that's the thing I like most about him. There is no spin and no nonsense.

"In my opinion he is the last of the gentlemen councillors – liked by all parties no matter who was in power.

"He has had a lot of respect from the Tory Party – more from them than from his own party, to be honest."

Cllr Miller was at the centre of a tug-of-loyalty last year, when he quit the Labour group to be an independent.

He was later persuaded by Labour group leader Tudor Evans and his deputy Chris Pattison to stay in the party.

In yesterday's ( resignation letter, written with the help of his brother Robin, Cllr Miller said: "It is a great sadness for me to inform you that, due to my continued health problems, I feel it is now time for me to retire from the office of elected councillor for the ward of Efford and Lipson, a year earlier than I had intended.

"I had always intended this term of office would be my last, but I feel I can no longer do justice to the residents of my ward.

"It has been extremely difficult and challenging at times over the years, representing this ward, firstly at Devon County Hall, and then here in Plymouth, yet I think these have been some of the best years of my life.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank one special person, Councillor Andy Kerswell, who has helped me over many years and still cares for me daily.

"He has assisted me as a councillor and he supported me to become Lord Mayor. That year was without doubt the best time of my life."

In turn, Mr Kerswell accused the Labour group on the council of turning their backs on Cllr Miller.

"He has done a lot for the city, and the Labour group has just cast him aside like an old rag," Mr Kerswell said.

"Not one of them has been to see him or even written to him. The only person who has contacted him has been Vivien Pengelly, the Conservative leader of the council."

But Mayor-designate Mary Aspinall, of the Labour group, said Cllr Miller had been in their room twice in the last three weeks and given her advice about being Lord Mayor.

"We have invited him to meetings and so on, but it is important not to upset him with him being so ill," she said.

"He is the most respected member of our group and we all think highly of him.

"Alzheimer's is not an easy disease to deal with, and we are aware that he is physically frail as well."

Mrs Pengelly said: "Claude and I have always got on wonderfully well; he has always been interested in social services and vulnerable people.

"He is living proof that you are never too old to do what you want to do, and he will be missed by everyone on the council.

"It is very sad that he is not well at the moment, but he has led a wonderful life and is a true example to us all."

A remarkable political career

CLAUDE Miller MBE has enjoyed a remarkable political career spanning more than seven decades.

He was born in Stonehouse, into a political family; his decorated father William – the grandson of a freed slave and the city's first black councillor – was Deputy Lord Mayor in the 1930s. Miller Way in Estover is named after him.

Claude was educated at High Street School for Boys until he was 15, when he enrolled at the Devonport and Plymouth Technical School.

He became interested in politics at the age of 16 and helped to form the Labour Party League of Youth in Plymouth.

He was elected to Devon County Council in 1981 and joined the city council in 1997, representing Efford and Lipson for a total of 29 years.

Widowed in 1987, he became the UK's oldest ever Lord Mayor in 2005 at the age of 89.

In 2007, at the age of 92, his remarkable public service was recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Claude travelled to Buckingham Palace to be presented with his MBE by the Queen, who told him there was no one more worthy of the honour.

The Labour member was then whisked to Westminster where he met Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who expressed his gratitude for Cllr Miller's service to the local community.

Claude, believed to be the country's oldest councillor, admitted to being "slightly overwhelmed", describing it as "one of the greatest days of my life".