Baroness Castle
Barbara Castle was a formidable and feisty politician, both when she served in the Commons and also when she joined the Lords. (She was elevated to the peerage in 1990 when she was 80.) She was not afraid to speak her mind and that included when taking on her own Government. She also came out with some memorable phrases, both in the chamber and away from it.
There was one occasion when she was near to the chamber and was taken ill. The normal practice is for an announcement to appear on the screen asking for a doctor to attend in whatever part of the Palace he or she is needed. The House is not short of medical expertise. The first doctor to respond was Lord Winston, the noted fertility expert. As he approached, Lady Castle regained consciousness, looked up, saw him and observed: ‘I don’t need a gynaecologist!’
Dear Lord Norton,
Thank you for once again raising a titter with a gem of a story. My fondest memory of Lady Castle in the Lords is that when she stood up to speak she opened with ‘Fellow Peers’.
Howridiculous.
Spirited lady. Elaine and Frances – you’ve got in you, too!
Altough I was a dedicated Tory, Barbara Castle was one of my role models when I was a young, aspirant, female, politician – even before Lady Thatcher!
The irony of her comment is that she could have done with Lord Winston 40 years earlier – she and her husband were unable to conceive a child, and had the standard fertility treatments of the time (hormone injections etc) to no avail.