A leading regeneration expert and key Liverpool ambassador will receive a top civic award in the city today (Monday 26 June).

Liverpool City Council will present Professor Michael Parkinson CBE with the prestigious Citizen of Honour accolade, which has previously been given to the likes of Bill Shankly, April Ashley and local World War Two veterans.

Professor Parkinson is currently the associate pro vice chancellor for civic engagement and executive director of the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy and Practice at the University of Liverpool.

He also lectures nationally and internationally and works as an advisor on urban affairs to organisations including the European Commission, as well as previously being responsible for establishing the acclaimed European Institute of Urban Affairs at Liverpool John Moores University.

Ahead of the Liverpool Town Hall presentation, Professor Parkinson says: “I am very proud but humbled to receive this honour.

“Liverpool made me. It educated me. It gave me a home, friends and work. Most important, Liverpool gave me a voice as a writer. And it gave me a wonderful subject to write about – one of the most interesting cities in the world.”

Professor Parkinson, who most famously wrote ‘Liverpool on the Brink’ about the city’s political and economic struggles in the 1980s, adds: “I am so glad I live with my family in this self-confident, generous, open and increasingly successful European city.”

Citizen of Honour was first introduced by the local authority in 2008 to formally recognise individuals who made a significant, exceptional or unique contribution to enriching the life of the city.

Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, said: “I am delighted to be able to bestow the Citizen of Honour title on Professor Michael Parkinson.

“He has lived and breathed the city for decades, from the economic turmoil in the 1970s and 1980s through to the stunning regeneration and improvements that have taken place in more recent times.

“He has made a real and lasting contribution to Liverpool life, helping influence and shape the progress of the city he loves.”

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