Lords of the Blog

…was a Labour Party MP from 1979, first for the constituency of Hammersmith North, then Hammersmith and finally Ealing, Acton and Shepherd’s Bush from 1997 to 2005. He was Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 1997 to 2001. In 2005 it was announced that he would be given a life peerage, and on 29 June 2005 he was created Baron Soley, of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. He enjoys walking, photography and scuba diving. He has been blogging since 2003 and has played a leading role in developing this blog.

…was appointed Professor of Government at the University of Hull in 1986 at the age of 35. In 1992 he also became Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies. In 1998 he was elevated to the House of Lords as Lord Norton of Louth. He chaired the Conservative Party’s Commission to Strengthen Parliament, which reported in 2000. From 2001 to 2004 he was Chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution. He is the author or editor of 28 books.

…is a British scientist and Convenor (Leader) of the Crossbench Peers in the House of Lords. She graduated from University College, London with a Bachelor of Science in anthropology in 1970 and graduated from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford with a Doctor of Philosophy in 1976. Baroness D’Souza worked for the Nuffield Institute of Comparative Medicine from 1973 to 1977, the Oxford Polytechnic from 1977 to 1980 and was independent research consultant for the UN from 1985 to 1988. She was created a life Peer as Baroness D’Souza, of Wychwood in the County of Oxfordshire on 1 July 2004. Baroness D’Souza is married and has two children.

Find out more about the Crossbenchers – visit the Crossbench Peers website.

…was raised to the peerage as Baron Lipsey, of Tooting Bec in the London Borough of Wandsworth 1999. He has been a political adviser to Anthony Crosland in Opposition and an adviser to 10 Downing Street. He has worked as a journalist for a variety of different publications including The Sunday Times, Sunday Correspondent, The Times and The Economist. In his spare time he likes to do the following: golf, harness, horse and greyhound racing, opera, walking and cooking.

…was MP for Bodmin February-October 1974 and MP for North Cornwall 1992-2005. He was the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Agriculture and Rural Affairs. He was also Chief Whip, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Spokesperson for Constitutional Reform. Paul retired as an MP at the 2005 General Election and was subsequently made a life Peer. He is involved with a number of charities and academic institutions in the fields of international environmental exchanges, education in developing countries and cooperation between faith communities in the UK. In the Lords, he is Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs. His official title is Baron Tyler, of Linkinhorne in the County of Cornwall.

…became a life Peer in 1997 and is a frontbench spokesperson for Communities. He was also elected to the post of Liberal Democrat Party President in 1999 and in 2002. In November 2004 he was elected joint Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Peers. In 1969 he became Secretary of the Liberal Party’s Race and Community Relations Panel. Then, from 1976, Lord Dholakia worked for the Commission for Racial Equality and, most recently, was a member of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain. His political interests also encompass criminal justice and penal affairs. He has been involved in the Sussex Police Authority, the Police Complaints Authority and as a council member of the Howard League for Penal Reform since 1992. He is married and has two daughters.

…was Member of the European Parliament for Cornwall and West Plymouth between 1994 and 1999, becoming one of the first two Liberal Democrats elected to the European Parliament. He was Chief Whip of the European Liberal Democrat Group from 1997 to 1999. In Europe he spoke on marine, transport and regional policy issues. He joined the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords in 2006, speaking on climate change and energy issues. He is now the Party’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman in the Lords.

…is a British artist, teacher and Crossbench Peer. She worked as a professional actor from 1976 to 1984 and was a residential social worker in the London Borough of Islington from 1971 to 1973. Her most prominent role was in the children’s sitcom Metal Mickey which ran from 1980 – 1983. In 1985, she became co-director and training and development manager at the Haringey Arts Council, a post she held until 1989. From 1990 to 1992, she was lecturer in media studies at the Polytechnic of West London. She was lecturer, senior lecturer, principal lecturer, Professor of Cultural Studies and, in the end, Emeritus Professor at the Middlesex University. She became Project Director of the Archives and Museum of Black Heritage in 1997, Commissioner in the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts in 2000 and 2001 and Chair at the Nitro Theatre Company in 2004. In the same year, she was created a life peer as Baroness Young of Hornsey, of Hornsey in the London Borough of Haringey. She is married with one son.

…is a Crossbench Peer. After qualifying as a doctor and later teaching as an academic in the NHS for 25 years, she spent a period as a Health Service general manager between 1984 and 1990 which included the post of District General Manager for Lewisham and North Southwark Health Authority. Most recently she was Professor of Psychiatry of Old Age at Guy’s Hospital, and was Chair of the North East London Strategic Health Authority until 30 June 2006. Baroness Murphy is currently Chair of Council at St George’s, University of London , a non-executive board member of Monitor (Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trust Hospitals) and a Vice-President of the Alzheimer’s Society. In 2004, she was made a life Peer as Baroness Murphy, of Aldgate in the City of London, taking interest in mental health, education, healthcare and ageing issues in the House of Lords. She is married and lives in Norfolk.

…arrived in the Lords in 1992 following the death of his mother. His primary interest is Education and he edits the Good Schools Guide. Lord Lucas has a keen interest in libertarian issues, planning, e-government – whatever he can do in the time available.

…has been active member of the House of Lords since 1971 he has been independent since 1982 and was elected in 1999. He is a former Chairman of the National Federation of Housing Associations and other housing organizations. His interests are working for peace in the Middle East, the Balkans, Northern Ireland and he is keen on religious dialogue and human rights. He still farms in Somerset and is married with five children.

…was elevated to the House of Lords in 1998, having previously been chair of the Greater London Labour Party between 1986 to 1991. She is a Yorkshirewoman and lives in Shipley, Bradford. Her particular interests are in policy affecting children, London, media and social enterprise. Since becoming a member of the House of Lords, Baroness Thornton has been Government Whip and a Spokesperson for Health,  Work and Pensions, Equality and International Development. She is currently Opposition Spokesperson for Health and Equalities.  Outside of the House of Lords, she is a member of the Court of Governors of the London School of Economics

…was a tutor in law at Oxford University, elected Principal of St Anne’s College, and a pro Vice-Chancellor. She was also Chair of the UK Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority, was one of the last Governors of the BBC and a Rhodes Scholarships Trustee. She was the first Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education for England and Wales and 2008 was appointed Gresham Professor of Law, London, and lectures on family law.  She also Chairs the Bar Standards Board and has just completed a report for the Department of Health on Women Doctors – Making a Difference. She was created a life peer in 2005 and sits in the House of Lords as a cross-bench Peer.  She is a member of the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee which scrutinises a thousand statutory instruments a year.

…is a successful paralympic athlete. She competed for 16 years at the highest level in her sport, winning a total of 16 medals, including 11 gold medals in five Paralympic Games. Following her retirement from competition in 2007, Baroness Grey-Thompson has played an active role in the administration of sport, becoming Vice-President of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a non-executive director of UK athletics and member of the board for the London Marathon. She is also a member of Transport for London. Baroness Grey-Thompson became a Crossbench peer in March 2010.
She lives in the north east of England and is married with one daughter.

…is a Labour Peer – one of the three Peers appointed by John Smith in 1993.  Before becoming a Peer he worked in the textile industry for 30 years.  During this time he built up a textile technology business which was sold before he became a Peer.
A lifelong member of the Labour Party he was active in bringing the Labour Party and the management side of business and industry together.  Since becoming a Peer he has dealt with science and technology, trade and industry from the front and back benches in both government and opposition.
He has served on many committees dealing with these matters and since 2002 has been a Deputy Speaker.

…was the longest serving Schools minister in the last Labour government, he also served as Rural Affairs minister and Employment minister. He attended weekly Cabinet in the year running up to the 2010 General Election, and was made a life peer in the Dissolution Honours List after that 2010 election. Having co-ordinated Ed Balls Leadership Campaign he is now focussing on his role as Shadow Employment minister in the Lords, and as a consultant in education policy internationally. He is also on the board of the Arsenal Fanshare Society, is a vice-President of the LGA and is a trustee of the e-Learning Foundation. Jim is also on Twitter and Facebook.

…was born in Prague and came to Britain on a Kindertransport in 1939. He was MP for Battersea South and Battersea from 1979 to 1987 and was an Opposition Spokesperson for Home Affairs from 1983 to 1987. He was the Director of the Refugee Council from 1988 to 1995 and became a Labour peer in 1994. During his time in the House of Lords he has been a Whip, an Opposition Spokesperson for Energy and the Environment, and a Parliamentary Under Secretary for Northern Ireland. He was also the Chair of the Labour Party in the Lords from 2000 to 2005 and he currently sits on the Human Rights Joint Committee. He is also currently Chairman of the Independent Code Panel, Association of Energy Suppliers and the Road Safety Foundation, and has been a trustee of a number of voluntary organisations.

…served as Member of Parliament for the Langbaurgh parliamentary constituency between 1992 and 1997. He held a number of ministerial posts including Senior Government Whip and H M Paymaster General. His interests include international relations – stemming from serving as Director of Research and Consultancy for Oxford Analytica between 1998 and 2005. Based in the North East of England he was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party between 2006-2010 with special responsibility for Campaign North with Rt Hon William Hague MP.

Appointed to the House of Lords in 2008, he has held a number of Frontbench roles including; Communities and Local Government and Education. He is currently campaigning for a meaningful observance of the Olympic Truce at the London 2012 Games.

… was made a Companion of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to RNIB and disabled people’s rights in 2000 and was appointed as a Crossbench Peer in 2006.
He was educated at Worcester College for the Blind and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He taught Law and Criminology at Leeds University (1968-84), before moving to London as Director of the Disability Resource Team, then on to City University as Senior Research Fellow, where he carried out research on theories of disability, retiring in 2000.

He has been President of the European Blind Union (EBU) since 2003 and is a Vice-President of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), having held the position of Chair from 2000-2009. In 2010 he took over as President of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) and is President of the Disability Alliance. He was also President of SKILL (the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities) an organization he helped found, until 2011.

He is married to Jill and has two children, Peter and Philippa. His leisure interests include music, current affairs and an appreciation of fine wines.

… started her career in education as a teacher in an inner city multi racial comprehensive school where she taught for 18 years. In 1992 she entered Parliament and in 2001 became the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. She followed this with 2 years as a Minister at the Department of Culture Media and Sport and left Parliament in 2005.

Since then she has combined a career that includes senior posts both in education and the arts as well as being a member of the House of Lords. She is a trustee of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and The Roundhouse and Chair of the National Coalmining Museum.

Estelle’s roles in education have allowed her to see the education landscape from classroom teacher to senior policy maker and it is this breadth of experience that is now reflected in her comments and analysis of education. Amongst other posts she now works at the Institute of Effective Education at the University of York which aims to transform the relationship between education research and practice so that policy making and teaching can become more evidence based.

She is a regular contributor to Guardian Education.

…was made a life peer in May 2010, taking the title Baroness Hussein-Ece of Highbury, in the London Borough of Islington. She sits on the Liberal Democrat benches. The first person from a Turkish background in the British Parliament.

Born in inner- city London to a Turkish immigrant family, she has been an active community worker, setting up the very first Turkish Women’s Centre, and Domestic Violence Project for Turkish and Kurdish Women, nearly 20 years ago. She worked in local government as a librarian, a community development officer, and a race equality officer, before moving on to work in the NHS, as chief officer of Haringey Community Health Council.

Baroness Hussein-Ece served as a local Councillor for 16 years. She was elected from 1994-2002 to Hackney Council, where she served as Deputy Leader of the Council and Islington Council between 2002-2010, where she held a number of senior roles, including Cabinet Member for Health & Adult Social Care, and Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

She was Non-Executive Director of Camden & Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust, and served as a Board Member of Islington Primary Care Trust.

As well as a member of the Government’s successful ‘Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Women’s (BAME) Councillors Taskforce’, tasked with increasing the number of women councillors from a BAME background, and encouraging more women to take their place in public life in the UK.

Baroness Hussein-Ece was awarded the OBE in Jan 2009, for services to local government and was appointed a Commissioner to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2009.

She has 3 children.

…was born in Liverpool in 1960 and helped to run the Liberal election campaigns there when they ran the City Council. He was the most successful Liberal agent in Britain in 1983 when he worked on the Liberal campaign in the Liverpool Mossley Hill constituency of David Alton (now a crossbench peer).

He was a key member of many of the Liberal/SDP by-election teams and in 1989 he was awarded the MBE for political service. In that year, he was appointed as Director of Campaigns and Elections for the Liberal Democrats and became Chief Executive in 2003.

He oversaw 13 parliamentary by-election wins for the Liberal Democrats starting with Eastbourne in 1990, and the 1997 General election Liberal Democrat target seat campaign, which resulted in the party more than doubling its number of MPs from 18 to 46. With Lord Razzall as Campaign Chair he also directed the Liberal Democrats’ General Election campaigns in 2001 and 2005 which further increased the number of Lib Dem MPs to 52 and then 62.

This campaigning experience led Total Politics to say recently that, Chris Rennard is “probably the most formidable and feared political campaigner of the last 20 years.”

He was appointed as a member of the House of Lords on the recommendation of Lord Ashdown in 1999. He speaks for the Liberal Democrats on political & constitutional reform and communities & local government. He chaired the Commission on the Big Society established by voluntary sector chief executives. He is also Vice President of the Local Government Association (LGA).

http://www.libdems.org.uk/peers_detail.aspx?name=Lord_Rennard&pPK=c83fb283-1aa4-41ab-97a2-710ee1d5d4bd