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The Lord Glenamara | |
|---|---|
 Short in 1964 | |
| Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council | |
| In office 5 March 1974 – 8 April 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Jim Prior |
| Succeeded by | Michael Foot |
| Deputy Leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 25 April 1972 – 8 April 1976 | |
| Leader | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Roy Jenkins |
| Succeeded by | Michael Foot |
| Shadow Leader of the House of Commons | |
| In office 6 December 1972 – 4 March 1974 | |
| Leader | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Michael Foot |
| Succeeded by | Jim Prior |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science | |
| In office 20 June 1970 – 6 December 1972 | |
| Leader | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Margaret Thatcher |
| Succeeded by | Roy Hattersley |
| Secretary of State for Education and Science | |
| In office 6 April 1968 – 20 June 1970 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Patrick Gordon Walker |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Thatcher |
| Postmaster General | |
| In office 4 July 1966 – 6 April 1968 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Tony Benn |
| Succeeded by | Roy Mason |
| Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 16 October 1964 – 4 July 1966 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Deputy | Sydney Irving (1964–66) John Silkin (1966) |
| Preceded by | Martin Redmayne |
| Succeeded by | John Silkin |
| Opposition Deputy Chief Whip of theHouse of Commons | |
| In office 7 March 1962 – 16 October 1964 | |
| Leader | Hugh Gaitskell George Brown Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | John Taylor |
| Succeeded by | William Whitelaw |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
| Life peerage 28 January 1977 – 4 May 2012 | |
| Member of Parliament forNewcastle upon Tyne Central | |
| In office 25 October 1951 – 12 October 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Lyall Wilkes |
| Succeeded by | Harry Cowans |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Watson Short (1912-12-17)17 December 1912 Warcop, England |
| Died | 4 May 2012(2012-05-04) (aged 99) Hexham, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | College of the Venerable Bede |
| Profession | Teacher |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch/service |  British Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Durham Light Infantry |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
Edward Watson Short, Baron Glenamara,CH, PC (17 December 1912 – 4 May 2012), commonly addressed asLord Glenamara, was aBritish Labour Party politician and deputy leader of the Labour Party. He wasMember of Parliament (MP) forNewcastle upon Tyne Central and served as a minister during the Labour governments underHarold Wilson, before being appointed to theHouse of Lords shortly afterJames Callaghan became Prime Minister.
Following the death ofJames Allason on 16 June 2011, Short was the oldest living former member of theBritish House of Commons. He died just under a year later, aged 99. At the time of his death he was the oldest member of the House of Lords.[1]
Short was born inWarcop, Westmorland. His father Charles Short, a draper, was married to Mary. Short qualified as a teacher atCollege of the Venerable Bede,Durham University, before completing a second degree, in law, at London University. He taught on Tyneside until enlisting in 1939.[2] He served as a Captain in theDurham Light Infantry of the British Army during theSecond World War.[3] After leaving the army he returned to teaching, becoming Newcastle branch secretary of theNational Union of Teachers and in 1947, head of Princess Louise Boys' School,Blyth.[2] He married Jennie Sewell in 1941, and they had two children.[4]
Short joined the Labour Party in 1942 and was elected a councillor onNewcastle City Council in 1948, where he led the Labour Group within two years.[4] He was first elected to Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne Central at the1951 general election.[4] He was appointed to thePrivy Council in 1964, and was made aMember of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1976.[5]
Short was responsible for the outlawing ofpirate radio stations such asRadio Caroline. Following the government campaign against the pirates previously led byTony Benn, his predecessor in the post ofPostmaster-General (then the minister with responsibility for broadcasting), Short was responsible for introducing the bill[6] which became theMarine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967. In a 1982 interview for BBC Radio'sThe Story of Pop Radio, Short admitted having enjoyed listening to some of those stations, particularlyRadio 390.
As Postmaster General, Short ordered the creation of the 1966England Winners stamp to celebrate England's victory in the1966 FIFA World Cup.
He subsequently served asEducation Secretary from 1968 to 1970, andbecame Labour's deputy leader on 25 April 1972 afterRoy Jenkins resigned over differences on European policy.[7] Short was seen at the time as a "safe pair of hands". His main rival for the job was the left-wingerMichael Foot who was viewed by many on the centre and right of the party as a divisive figure. Short defeated Foot andAnthony Crosland inthe same vote. During his tenure he ended the policy of free milk for secondary school students, a policy that would be controversially extended to 7-11 year olds by hisConservative Party successorMargaret Thatcher.
Short's new seniority was reflected in 1974 as his appointment asLord President of the Council – though notDeputy Prime Minister. While he stood in for Wilson at cabinet meetings andprime minister's questions, he did not have the stature to mount a leadership bid himself upon the prime minister's retirement in 1976.[4] He was not offered a Cabinet post onJames Callaghan's election as Prime Minister. His resignation letter said that the time had come for him to step aside for a younger man; this was sarcasm, as he was replaced by Michael Foot, who was only seven months younger than himself. Short was also nine months younger than Callaghan, who had dropped him from the cabinet.Barbara Castle made similar remarks, having also been dropped from the cabinet.
He was made alife peer asBaron Glenamara, ofGlenridding in theCounty of Cumbria on 28 January 1977,[8] a few months after he had left the Commons. One year prior to that, he was appointed Chairman ofCable and Wireless Ltd, which was at the time anationalised industry. He served in that post until 1980.
As a life peer he was a member of theHouse of Lords, although a few years before his death he ceased to attend regularly.
His name lives on in theHouse of Commons with the term "Short Money". This refers to funds paid by the Government to help run the Parliamentary office of theLeader of the Opposition. The then Mr Short pioneered this idea during his time in the House.[4]
He was made aFreeman of the City of Newcastle in 2001 "in recognition of his eminent and outstanding public service" and served as Chancellor of theUniversity of Northumbria, a post he retired from in 2005. Short died inHexham on 4 May 2012, at the age of 99.[4]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNewcastle upon Tyne Central 1951–1976 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Government Chief Whipin the House of Commons 1964–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1964–1966 | |
| Preceded by | Postmaster General 1966–1968 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Education and Science 1968–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Commons 1974–1976 | Succeeded by |
| Lord President of the Council 1974–1976 | ||
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Deputy Labour Chief Whip of theHouse of Commons 1962–1964 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Labour Chief Whip of theHouse of Commons 1964–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Leader of the Labour Party 1972–1976 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| New office | Chancellor ofNorthumbria University 1992–2005 | Succeeded by |
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| Secretary of State for Education and Science | ||
| Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills | ||
| Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology | ||
| International | |
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