William Thomas Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, (born 28 October 1928) is a British politician who served as
Secretary of State for Transport from 1976 to 1979, and was one of the '
Gang of Four' of senior British
Labour Party politicians who defected to form the
Social Democratic Party (SDP). He subsequently helped to lead the SDP into the merger that formed the
Liberal Democrats in 1988, and later served as that party's leader in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
between 1997 and 2001.
Early life
Rodgers was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, and educated at
Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool. After
national service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The ...
in the
King's Regiment (Liverpool)
The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...
, he studied Modern History at
Magdalen College, Oxford on an Open Exhibition. He was general secretary of the
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
from 1953 to 1960 and a councillor on
St Marylebone Borough Council from 1958 to 1962. He was instrumental in lobbying the
National Executive Committee of the Labour Party
The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the governing body of the UK Labour Party, setting the overall strategic direction of the party and policy development. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affil ...
to reverse its vote in favour of
unilateral nuclear disarmament in 1961. He also unsuccessfully fought a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
at
Bristol West in 1957.
Member of Parliament
Rodgers first entered the
British House of Commons at
a by-election in 1962, representing
Stockton-on-Tees, and served in Labour Governments under
Harold Wilson and
James Callaghan, becoming
Secretary of State for Transport in
Callaghan's Cabinet in 1976. Within the Labour Party he was known for being a highly effective organiser around centrist causes such as multilateral nuclear disarmament and Britain's membership of the
European Economic Community. He held the post until Labour's defeat in the
1979 general election. From 1979 to 1981 he was Shadow Defence Secretary. With Labour drifting to the left, Rodgers joined
Shirley Williams
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, (' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from ...
,
Roy Jenkins and
David Owen in forming the Social Democratic Party in 1981. In September 1982, Rodgers stood to become President of the SDP, but took only 19.4% of the vote, and a distant second place behind Williams.
Gang of Four
At the
1983 general election the
SDP–Liberal Alliance
The SDP–Liberal Alliance was a centrist and social liberal political and electoral alliance in the United Kingdom.
Formed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Party, the SDP–Liberal Alliance was established in 1981, contest ...
won many votes but few seats, and Rodgers lost his seat of
Stockton North (known as
Stockton-on-Tees before the boundary changes of 1983). He remained outside Parliament, unsuccessfully contesting
Milton Keynes for the SDP in the
1987 general election, until he was created a
life peer as Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, of
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the open ...
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 ...
on 12 February 1992. During that interval he was Director-General of the
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...
and also became Chairman of the
Advertising Standards Authority.
In 1987, Rodgers was chairman of the successful "Yes to Unity" campaign within the SDP in favour of merger with the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
. He became the Liberal Democrats' Lords spokesman on Home Affairs in 1994 and was its leader in the Lords between 1997 and 2001. His autobiography was titled ''Fourth Among Equals'', reflecting his position as the least prominent of the SDP's founders. Rodgers was interviewed in 2012 as part of
The History of Parliament
The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...
's oral history project.
Personal life
In 1955, Rodgers married
Silvia Szulman (1928–2006), a Berlin-born artist and writer, who became a political hostess. The couple had three daughters, Rachel, Lucy and Juliet.
On 8 May 2001, Rodgers suffered a
stroke at his home and was treated at the
Royal Free Hospital and attended
speech therapy sessions at
North Middlesex Hospital for two and a half years. He said he was "very, very lucky not to have suffered any physical damage" as a result. He has since been a keen advocate for better treatment and care for stroke victims.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bankprofile at the site of Liberal Democrats
Recent Speeches in the Lords*
The Papers of Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bankheld at
Churchill Archives Centre
The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Bill
1928 births
20th-century British Army personnel
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
British autobiographers
British Secretaries of State
Chairs of the Fabian Society
Councillors in Greater London
GMB (trade union)-sponsored MPs
General Secretaries of the Fabian Society
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers
Living people
Members of St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970
People educated at Quarry Bank High School
British political party founders
Politicians from Liverpool
Secretaries of State for Transport (UK)
Social Democratic Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1959–1964
UK MPs 1964–1966
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs 1974–1979
UK MPs 1979–1983