Albert William "Jock" Stallard, Baron Stallard (5 November 1921 – 29 March 2008)
was a British
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
politician. He served as a councillor in
St Pancras and
Camden, and then as a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP). He retired from the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
at the
1983 general election and became a
life peer in the
1983 Dissolution Honours.
Early life
Stallard was born in
Hamilton, Lanarkshire
Hamilton ( sco, Hamiltoun; gd, Baile Hamaltan ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and nor ...
, the son of Frederick Stallard, a postman and driver from
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...
. His family had moved to Scotland before his birth, and he retained the nickname "Jock" in later life. He was educated at Low Waters Public School, winning a place to continue his education at the
Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy was a school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
The school was described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, and was featured in a 1950 Scottish Seconda ...
. His family returned to London in 1937, and he left school aged 16 to become an apprentice in
precision engineering
Precision engineering is a subdiscipline of electrical engineering, software engineering, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and optical engineering concerned with designing machines, fixtures, and other structures that have exce ...
. He was a socialist, becoming a
shop steward
A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...
for the
Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers
The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992.
History
The history of t ...
. He found himself working in a
reserved occupation
A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service.
In a total war, such as the Second World War, w ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
He was elected to
St Pancras Council in 1953. Along with other councillors from St Pancras led by
John Lawrence, he was expelled from the Labour Party for flying the
red flag from the town hall on May Day 1958, in protest at the exacerbation of endemic
Rachmanism by the relaxation of rent controls under the
Rent Acts in the post-war years. He left the council in 1959, but rejoined the party and became an
alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
in 1962. He served as a member of
Camden London Borough Council
Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Camden is divided into 18 wards, each electing th ...
from its formation in 1964 as the successor to St Pancras Council until he became an MP in 1970.
Parliamentary career
Stallard was Member of Parliament for
St Pancras North from 1970 until the constituency was abolished in boundary changes at the
1983 general election. In both the
February 1974
The following events occurred in February 1974:
February 1, 1974 (Friday)
*Joelma fire, A fire killed 177 people and injured 293 others in the 23-story Joelma Building at São Paulo in Brazil. Another 11 later died of their injuries. The bl ...
and
October 1974 general elections, his
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
opponent was future Prime Minister
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
, who was making his debut as a parliamentary candidate.
When the Labour party returned to government in 1974, Stallard became a
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
(PPS) to
Edward Bishop,
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
at the
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...
, and, from October, PPS to
Reg Freeson
Reginald Yarnitz Freeson (24 February 1926 – 9 October 2006) was a British Labour politician. He was a Member of Parliament for 23 years, from 1964 to 1987, for Willesden East and later Brent East, with 14 years on the front bench. He be ...
, minister of housing and construction in the
Department of the Environment
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
. He became a government
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
in early 1976, when
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...
replaced
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
. The whips were essential at that period, with a minority government only able to pass legislation thanks to the
Lib–Lab pact. Stallard was promoted to become a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
in 1978, but resigned in January 1979 when the Prime Minister, Callaghan, promoted a Bill which would increase the representation of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
in the House of Commons from 12 seats to 17.
After being passed over for selection for a re-drawn seat of
Holborn and St Pancras
Holborn and St Pancras () is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 1983. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Sir Keir Starmer, the current Leade ...
in the
1983 general election in favour of
Frank Dobson
Frank Gordon Dobson (15 March 1940 – 11 November 2019) was a British Labour Party politician. As Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St. Pancras from 1979 to 2015, he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 ...
, the younger Labour candidate from
Holborn and St Pancras South, the other half of the merged constituency, Stallard was appointed to the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
. He was created a
life peer as Baron Stallard, of
St Pancras in the
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...
, on 7 September 1983.
In the House of Lords, he opposed compulsory
sex education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
in schools, the
1990 Embryology bill and along with many peers of his generation, felt
homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
was not just acceptable but enshrined in the teachings of his religion. A devout
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, during debates in the Lords on the equalisation of the
age of consent
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...
in 2000, he compared homosexuality to child abuse and attacked the
Blair government for threatening to impose the will of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
on the Lords by way of the
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Act of Parliament, Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2(2) of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that the two Acts are to be St ...
: "[]he one thing I cannot come to terms with is the concept that homosexuality must be equated with heterosexuality and that homosexual couples must be equated with married couples."
Personal life and death
Stallard married Julia (Sheila) Murphy in 1944, in St Pancras, London. His wife was Irish, originally from
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
, and the couple had a son, Richard, in 1945 and a daughter, Brenda, in 1949.
He was a self-taught pianist, enjoyed jazz music and performed at sing-songs in several Camden pubs.
Stallard attended the House of Lords everyday until his wife's death in 2004.
Following a long illness, Stallard died in a nursing home in north London on 29 March 2008, aged 86.
A Requiem Mass was held in Our Lady of Hal Catholic Church in Camden Town, north London, attended by Members of the House of Lords, MPs, representatives from local government, including Lord Tony Clark who gave the first reading, and
Lord Ted Graham and Roger Robinson who read tributes at the end of the Mass.
Notes
References
*
Times Guide to the House of Commons
''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom.
Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. The ...
1979
Labour's Lord Stallard dies at 86 ''news.bbc.co.uk'', 30 March 2008
*
*
*Obituaries:
''The Daily Telegraph'', 31 March 2008''The Times'', 31 March 2008''The Guardian'', 31 March 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stallard, Jock
1921 births
2008 deaths
Amalgamated Engineering Union-sponsored MPs
People educated at Hamilton Academy
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983
Labour Party (UK) life peers
Members of St Pancras Metropolitan Borough Council
English Roman Catholics
British Roman Catholics
Labour Party (UK) councillors
Councillors in the London Borough of Camden
Life peers created by Elizabeth II