Barry Herbert Seal (28 October 1937 – 17 September 2025) was a BritishLabour Party politician who served in theEuropean Parliament.
Born inHalifax, West Yorkshire on 28 October 1937,[1] Seal was educated atHeath Grammar School, theUniversity of Bradford, and theEuropean Business School inFontainebleau. He worked as a chemical engineer, then as a computer consultant and lecturer.
Seal became active in theLabour Party, serving onBradford City Council from 1971 until 1979. At theOctober 1974 United Kingdom general election, he unsuccessfully contestedHarrogate.[2]
He wasMember of the European Parliament (MEP) for the single-member seat ofYorkshire West from1979 to1999.[2][3] He stood unsuccessfully for election to the new multi-member seat ofYorkshire and the Humber in the1999 European elections.
Seal served as Leader of the Labour MEPs from 1988 until 1989,[2] and he served a term as Chair of the Economic and Monetary Committee and time as President of the Parliaments delegation to the USA. In 2002 he became Chairman ofKirklees Primary CareNHS trust and in 2007 became Chairman ofBradford District Care Trust.[4]
Seal died fromacute myeloid leukaemia on 17 September 2025, at the age of 87.[5]
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| Preceded by | Leader of theEuropean Parliamentary Labour Party 1988–1989 | Succeeded by |
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