Fred Peart, Baron Peart

Thomas Frederick Peart, Baron Peart, PC (30 April 1914 – 26 August 1988) was a British Labour politician who served in the Labour governments of the 1960s and 1970s and was a candidate for Deputy Leader of the Party.

The Right Honourable
The Lord Peart
PC
Peart in 1959
Leader of the Opposition in the Lords
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
In office
4 May 1979 – 4 November 1982
LeaderJim Callaghan
Michael Foot
Preceded byThe Lord Carrington
Succeeded byThe Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
Leader of the House of Lords
In office
10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979
Prime MinisterJim Callaghan
Preceded byThe Lord Shepherd
Succeeded byThe Lord Soames
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
In office
10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979
Prime MinisterJim Callaghan
Preceded byThe Lord Shepherd
Succeeded byIan Gilmour
In office
6 April 1968 – 1 November 1968
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
Preceded byThe Lord Shackleton
Succeeded byThe Lord Shackleton
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office
5 March 1974 – 10 September 1976
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
James Callaghan
Preceded byJoseph Godber
Succeeded byJohn Silkin
In office
18 October 1964 – 6 April 1968
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
Preceded byChristopher Soames
Succeeded byCledwyn Hughes
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
In office
10 April 1972 – 5 March 1974
LeaderHarold Wilson
Preceded byGeorge Thomson
Succeeded byIan Gilmour
Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office
16 December 1971 – 10 April 1972
LeaderHarold Wilson
Preceded byCledwyn Hughes
Succeeded by???
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In office
20 June 1970 – 16 December 1971
LeaderHarold Wilson
Preceded bySelwyn Lloyd (1965)
Succeeded byMichael Foot
Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council
In office
1 November 1968 – 20 June 1970
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
Preceded byDick Crossman
Succeeded byWillie Whitelaw
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
23 September 1976 – 26 August 1988
Life Peerage
Member of Parliament
for Workington
In office
5 July 1945 – 23 September 1976
Preceded byThomas Cape
Succeeded byRichard Page
Personal details
Born(1914-04-30)30 April 1914
Durham, England, UK
Died26 August 1988(1988-08-26) (aged 74)
Political partyLabour
Alma materDurham University

Early life and education

The son of Emerson Featherstone Peart, a headmaster and leading Labour member of Durham County Council, and Florence Blissenden, Peart himself qualified as a teacher at the University of Durham in 1936. During his time at university he was President of the Durham Union for Epiphany term of 1936.[1] He served in the Royal Artillery in World War II, gaining the rank of captain.

Political career

Peart was elected Member of Parliament for Workington in 1945, serving until 1976. He initially served as PPS to the Minister of Agriculture & Fisheries (Tom Williams).

Peart, along with the rest of the Labour Party, went into opposition after Sir Winston Churchill's 1951 election victory. In 1964, he returned to government after Harold Wilson defeated Sir Alec Douglas-Home at that year's election. He was appointed to the Cabinet holding the Cabinet post of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. His tenure saw advances in pay for agricultural labourers, and in technology. In 1968, Peart became Lord Privy Seal, with no particular responsibilities. Seven months later, Peart became Leader of the House of Commons, taking the subsidiary title Lord President of the Council. After Labour lost the 1970 election, Peart returned to opposition as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. He held that position until December 1971, when he became Shadow Agriculture Minister.[2] When Labour returned to power, Peart once more took the Agriculture portfolio.

On 6 June 1975, Peart was involved in a train accident; he was on board a London to Glasgow sleeper train which crashed at Nuneaton, he survived the accident with minor injuries.[3]

On 23 September 1976, Peart was created a life peer as Baron Peart, of Workington in the County of Cumbria,[4] to serve as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal at a time when the Labour faction in the Lords was tiny compared to the vast Tory majority, mainly composed of hereditary peers.

After Margaret Thatcher won the 1979 election, Peart continued as Leader of the Labour Peers and thus became Shadow Leader of the House of Lords. He served in those roles until 1982, when he was defeated for re-election by Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos in a vote among Labour peers.[5]

See also

References
  1. Campbell, P. D. A. (1952). A Short History of the Durham Union Society. Durham County Press. p. 17.
  2. Warden, John (17 December 1971). "Wilson Gives Foot Key Market Role". The Glasgow Herald. p. 22. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  3. "Nuneaton train crash: Vivid memories 40 years on". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  4. "No. 47025". The London Gazette. 28 September 1976. p. 13129.
  5. "No whip's job for Canavan". The Glasgow Herald. 5 November 1982. p. 6.
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