She was known as the ‘Mother of the Council’ after spending four decades representing residents on her ward.
During that time, she has helped make huge changes to the area, including introducing recycling to West Norfolk and opening public toilets in Lynn.
As well as being a long-serving councillor and Labour Party member, she has also served as a magistrate and worked in Fairstead’s first GP surgery.
The question is, what has Margaret Wilkinson not done?
A recognisable face to many, Margaret, now 85, represented the Fairstead and Gaywood South ward for 42 years before taking the difficult decision to step down from her role due to health problems.
She is thought to be one of the longest-serving councillors not only in West Norfolk but across the country.
During her four-decade span, she has spoken to thousands of residents and attended countless events.
In this feature, we take a look back at Margaret’s eventful life, on and off the council…
On a sunny Monday morning, Margaret invited me round to her lovely home in Fairstead, where she told me she had lived for some time.
She and her late husband moved to Lynn from London in 1967 after visiting friends who moved to West Norfolk. They liked the area so much, they moved to Lynn in the same year with their two young children, Louise and David.
Margaret explained that she enjoyed the slower lifestyle in West Norfolk, rather than the hustle and bustle of North London.
She said: “It was quite a rural town coming from London. I had to put my brakes on because everything was so slow.
“I went back to London for a short time because I thought that I wouldn’t stay here forever. When I got there, I could hardly cross the road.”
Before moving to West Norfolk, Margaret left school at 15 and worked in London for Aquascutum, the luxury clothing retailer. This was followed by a stint at Burberry.
“I used to travel up and down on the tube every day to work,” she said.
“Then suddenly, my whole life slowed down, and it was probably for the best.”
It seemed odd to me that Margaret said her life slowed down when she moved to West Norfolk after she told me about everything she was doing at the time.
After moving to the borough, Margaret worked at the GP Surgery in Fairstead while raising her children.
In 1983, she was first elected as a councillor for Fairstead and Gaywood South.
“The fact that I kept being re-elected for the same ward for 42 years was an honour,” she said.
“People chop and change who they vote for, and councillors try representing somewhere else because they think they’re not going to get re-elected.
“The first and foremost thing for me was to support and help the residents as much as I could.
“The one thing about being a councillor is that you can get behind the doors, whereas individual people come up to a barrier.
“It was a bit like my magistrate role, you try to get the background, and you don’t take it as word of mouth from the resident. No disrespect to the resident. But you have got to hear both sides.”
As well as working at the surgery and being a councillor, Margaret also served as a magistrate in Lynn for 20 years.
She took on the role in 1990 and described certain cases as tough, especially when dealing with young offenders.
“The sad thing was when you saw the parents at the back of the court, you know it’s the young person who is not streetwise,” she said.
During her time on the bench, Margaret visited several prisons and places where juveniles stay.
She recalled one memory of visiting a young offender who had faced a tough life.
“I saw this one young lad who was working with shire horses, he said that one was his best friend,” she said.
“You move from case to case; you don’t have the time to sit and dwell on a case.”
During her time on West Norfolk Council, Margaret has undertaken a variety of positions, including chair of the environment committee, and she was proud to oversee many initiatives from which we still benefit today.
Margaret was behind introducing recycling to West Norfolk and opening the Baker Lane and Tuesday Market Place public toilets.
She said that at the time, other people thought she had “lost the plot” when proposing to bring recycling to the borough.
“We started with recycling paper, and it grew from there. I made the black bin smaller, so that was a big achievement.”
Margaret said that before the public toilets were installed, facilities were “dark and horrible”.
She said: “The toilets were not welcoming to visitors or residents.
“The worst ones were by Fraser Dawbarns, you had to go down about 10 steps, which was not good for disabled people. They were dark, wet and horrible.”
Around this time, Margaret had also organised for more litter picking to take place around the town.
Margaret has also been an active member of the Unite trade union for more than 30 years, receiving a special award for her long and valued contribution.
She was deputy mayor for two years from 2019, and took on the deputy mayor position again in 2022.
Margaret served as Geoff Hipperson’s deputy mayor in 2019.
Despite their opposing political parties, the pair soon formed a firm friendship.
“I wouldn’t have become mayor if it wasn’t for Geoff,” she said.
“We had a lovely time together for two years.
“I have never had a problem with any councillor, whatever party they are from. I’ve always respected them.”
Margaret was “finally” elected mayor in 2023 after serving as Lesley Bambridge’s deputy the previous year.
She gained the nickname of ‘Rusty Chains’ due to her reputation as a long-serving councillor.
“You can see why it took so long for me to be mayor. It just didn’t happen. I did stand and I actually got to the process on the night, and then got voted against,” she said.
Margaret appointed two of her close friends, Amani Habaibeh and Dawn Leigh, to be her consorts.
She explained that she wanted to give Amani, from Jordan, opportunities she hadn’t been able to have before.
“Amani had never experienced anything. Sometimes she didn’t know what we were going to do, but she was always good to me,” she said.
“Now, she looks after me and takes me places, takes me shopping, and does all sorts of lovely things because my health has deteriorated in the past year.”
She said one of her favourite memories of her time as mayor was meeting the King at Sandringham while presenting him a book alongside school children.
Margaret has been awarded the title of Honorary Alderman. The award is for those who have provided outstanding services as past councillors in West Norfolk.
She put her long service and passion for helping others down to having a difficult childhood in London when she lost her parents at a young age.
“I think that’s what triggered me wanting to help other people,” she said.
“The experience that I’d gone through helped me understand other people. And I think that helped me as well.
“It was a hard thing to say that I was stepping down. It was a hard decision to make. My mobility is poor, I had to stop driving, it was like being cut off from everything.”
As a long-serving member of the Labour Party, Margaret said she is “disappointed” with the current government, adding that the decision to cut some pensioners’ winter fuel payments and take away a free television licence for them was unfair.
She said: “It seems to me that Keir Starmer has hit the ones at the bottom.
“A television for older people can be a lifeline. If you don’t have visitors and can’t get out much, all you have is the television.
“We should be progressing, but we’re going back to the dark ages. Some people are surviving very well, but others are living on the breadline and have been hit hard.”
Margaret recalls welcoming people from Ukraine into West Norfolk who had to flee from the war.
She said: “They are such lovely people. They’re always pleasant and happy to meet you, but going through trauma like that could make you very bitter when you’ve worked and lost everything.”
Margaret’s daughter Louise also joined us for part of the conversation.
She said: “My mum has been very focused in her life on helping the community.
“She is very community spirited and I think that personally, for me, she should be recognised even higher than she already has been.”
