The Lord Stow Hill | |
|---|---|
 Frank Soskice in 1961 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | |
| In office 23 December 1965 – 6 April 1966 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Frank Pakenham |
| Succeeded by | Frank Pakenham |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 18 October 1964 – 23 December 1965 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Henry Brooke |
| Succeeded by | Roy Jenkins |
| Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales | |
| In office 27 November 1956 – 18 October 1964 | |
| Leader | Hugh Gaitskell George Brown Harold Wilson |
| Preceded by | Lynn Ungoed-Thomas |
| Succeeded by | John Hobson |
| Attorney-General for England | |
| In office 24 April 1951 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Hartley Shawcross |
| Succeeded by | Sir Lionel Heald |
| Solicitor-General for England | |
| In office 4 August 1945 – 24 April 1951 | |
| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Walter Monckton |
| Succeeded by | Sir Lynn Ungoed-Thomas |
| Member of Parliament forNewport | |
| In office 6 July 1956 – 10 March 1966 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Freeman |
| Succeeded by | Roy Hughes |
| Member of Parliament forSheffield Neepsend | |
| In office 5 April 1950 – 6 May 1955 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Morris |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of Parliament forBirkenhead East | |
| In office 5 July 1945 – 3 February 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Graham White |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Soskice (1902-07-23)23 July 1902 Geneva, Switzerland |
| Died | 1 January 1979(1979-01-01) (aged 76) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Susan Isabella Cloudsley Hunter |
| Relatives |
|
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Frank Soskice, Baron Stow Hill,PC, QC (23 July 1902 – 1 January 1979) was a British lawyer andLabour Party politician.
Soskice was born inGeneva on 23 July 1902.[1] His father was the exiledJewish-Russian revolutionary journalistDavid Soskice [ru]; his mother Juliet Hueffner was the daughter ofCatherine Madox Brown andFrancis Hueffer, and so granddaughter of artistFord Madox Brown, niece ofDante Gabriel Rossetti and sister ofFord Madox Ford.[1]
Soskice was educated at theFroebel Demonstration School,St Paul's School, London, andBalliol College, Oxford. He studied law and wascalled to the Bar at theInner Temple in 1926.[1] He served in theBritish Army with theOxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry duringWorld War II.[2]
He served first in East Africa and then in thePolitical Warfare Executive in Cairo. Later he worked with theSpecial Operations Executive, SOE, in London.[1]
His son,David Soskice, is an economist.
Following the war, he was elected to Parliament as a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) forBirkenhead East in the1945 general election, and becameSolicitor General,[3] receiving the customaryknighthood,[4] in the government ofClement Attlee, serving in that office throughout Attlee's government. He was also, briefly, UK delegate to theUnited Nations General Assembly. As Solicitor General, Soskice was viewed as an important advocate for the government in theHouse of Commons. His constituency was abolished in the1950 election, when he unsuccessfully foughtBebington, but he was soon returned to theHouse of Commons at aby-election in theSheffield Neepsend constituency, where the sitting MPHarry Morrisstood down to make way for Soskice. In April 1951, he becameAttorney General.
In 1952, Soskice joined the shadow cabinet, and his fortunes rose in 1955 with theelection of his close allyHugh Gaitskell as party leader, although he continued his legal practice as well.[1] His Sheffield Neepsend constituency was abolished for the1955 general election, but in 1956 he won aby-election in theNewport seat inMonmouthshire that he would hold until he retired.[1]
When Labour returned to government in 1964 underHarold Wilson, Soskice becameHome Secretary. In this office he did not impress Wilson – he was in poor health, and he botched the response to an electoral boundary change dispute inNorthamptonshire and accepted weakening amendments to theRace Relations Act of 1965.
In December 1965, Soskice was relieved of his Home Office responsibilities and madeLord Privy Seal. He had, though, ensured Government support forSydney Silverman's Private Members Bill, passed on 28 October 1965, which suspended the death penalty in the United Kingdom for five years (except fortreason).[1] This reform is sometimes erroneously included with theJenkins reforms which followed. In fact when the death penalty for murder was finally abolished in 1969,[5]James Callaghan was Home Secretary.
In 1966, Soskice retired, and was created alife peer as "Baron Stow Hill", ofNewport in theCounty of Monmouth on 7 June 1966.[6]Stow Hill is a steep hill in Newport, which runs from thecity centre up toSt. Woolos Cathedral.
According toYes Minister co-writerAntony Jay, the case ofTimothy Evans (who was wrongfully hanged for the murder of his wife and daughter) was part of the inspiration for the television satire because of Soskice's refusal to reopen the case despite having himself appealed for an inquiry while in opposition.[7]
Soskice died inHampstead on 1 January 1979, aged 76.[1]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBirkenhead East 1945–1950 | Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSheffield Neepsend 1950–1955 | Constituency abolished |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNewport 1956–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Solicitor-General for England 1945–1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney-General for England 1951 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Home Secretary 1964–1965 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Privy Seal 1965–1966 | Succeeded by |
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