Derek Senior (4 May 1912 – 6 December 1988) was a British freelance writer principally known for being a member of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England, chaired by

Lord Redcliffe-Maud __NOTOC__ John Primatt Redcliffe-Maud, Baron Redcliffe-Maud, (3 February 1906 – 20 November 1982) was a British civil servant and diplomat. Early life Born in Bristol, Maud was educated at Eton College and New College, Oxford. He gained a ...

Early life and career

Senior was born 4 May 1912 to Sally Gertrude (nee Ashworth, 1876-1963) and Oliver Senior (1880–1943). He had two siblings, Elizabeth (1910-1941) and Margaret Leonie “Peggy” (1916-2006). His father was the author of ''How to Draw Hands'', which was published by Studio in 1944. He attended six elementary schools before going to

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

; he then attended

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In 1937 he joined the editorial staff of the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''.SENIOR, Derek
, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 26 May 2009. After working as a leader writer, reporter and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

correspondent,"The dissenter", Times Diary, ''The Times'', 12 June 1969, p. 8. he began to specialise in planning matters, where he built up a reputation as a distinguished specialist journalist. Senior studied the disputes between

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

City Council and the Cheshire authorities over overspill housing closely.Bruce Wood, "The Process of Local Government Reform 1966–74", George Allen & Unwin, 1976, p. 42. In 1956, commissioned by

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

County Planning Department, he wrote "A Guide to the Cambridge Plan" which explained the detailed planning document in non-technical language."Cambridge Plan Booklet", ''The Times'', 2 October 1956, p. 13. Prior to this in 1945 he wrote an abridged edition of the "City of Manchester Plan". That year he was made an Honorary Associate Member of the

Royal Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was gra ...

Royal Commission

In 1960, Senior left the staff of ''The Guardian'' (as it had then become) and became a freelance. He also worked for the Civic Trust. At the national conference of the

Town and Country Planning Association The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive. Through its research, tr ...

in December 1964, he spoke in favour of the "City Region" as being the only way to make regional planning effective."Birmingham Area Needs 18 New Towns By 1986", ''The Times'', 2 December 1964, p. 7. The next year, he expanded on this theme in a high-profile article in ''

The Political Quarterly ''The Political Quarterly'' is an academic journal of political science that first appeared from 1914 to 1916 and was revived by Leonard Woolf, Kingsley Martin, and William A. Robson in 1930. Its editors-in-chief are Ben Jackson (University of Ox ...

'',See D. Senior, "The City Region as an Administrative Unit", ''Political Quarterly'', vol. 36 no. 1 (1965), pp. 82–91. followed by a book of conference papers called "The Regional City".Bruce Wood, "The Process of Local Government Reform 1966–74", George Allen & Unwin, 1976, p. 42-3. Senior was named as a member of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England in May 1966."Tasks set for new planners of local government: Members of royal commissions named", ''The Times'', 25 May 1966, p. 14. The proceedings of the Royal Commission were kept confidential, but when it was published on 11 June 1969, the Report was found to include a memorandum of dissent by Senior as long as the main report itself."Local England" (Editorial), ''The Times'', 12 June 1969, p. 9.

Memorandum of dissent

The main basis of Senior's dissent was his belief in retaining two tiers of local government. He proposed to create 35 city regions as the upper tier, with 148 directly elected district councils below them. He also advocated indirectly elected regional councils. Observers noted that the boundaries proposed by Senior paid little regard to those existing.Bruce Wood, "The Process of Local Government Reform 1966–74", George Allen & Unwin, 1976, p. 67-9. However, Senior's dissent had little impact on the public debate about the report. Senior's appearances at many conferences failed to generate support.Bruce Wood, "The Process of Local Government Reform 1966–74", George Allen & Unwin, 1976, p. 83-4. In his history of the reform of local government, Bruce Wood comments that "Senior's package was too complex to be readily communicable .. and too radical to be readily acceptable".Bruce Wood, "The Process of Local Government Reform 1966–74", George Allen & Unwin, 1976, p. 69.

Later life

After his duties on the Royal Commission ended, Senior returned to the field of planning. An essay he contributed to "London Under Stress" in 1970 called for more families to be resettled outside London to improve life inside; he wanted this move planned by an authority covering an area larger than the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

."Planners condemn fatal flaws of local government", ''The Times'', 6 October 1970, p. 4. In 1975 he was invited by the

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

Survival Campaign to investigate local government arrangements in

Hereford and Worcester Hereford and Worcester was an English non-metropolitan county created on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 from the areas of the former administrative county of Herefordshire, most of Worcestershire (except Halesowen, Stourbridge ...

, his alternative to be put to a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

to oppose the merger of the two counties which had recently taken place."Referendum on county merger", ''The Times'', 1 September 1975, p. 12. He served as a member of

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

Development Corporation between 1975 and 1979. Senior continued to support regional government, speaking in favour at a meeting of Labour members of the Association of District Councils in June 1976,Christopher Warman, "Suggestions for English devolution given firm support by Labour district councillors", ''The Times'', 26 June 1976, p. 2. and arguing that October that

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

to Scotland risked being defeated by an English backlash unless there was a firm commitment to devolution to the English regions.John Chartres, "Regional devolution plans 'by Christmas'", ''The Times'', 23 October 1976, p. 2. In 1980 he opposed the choice of

Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

for London's third airport over Maplin, pointing to the loss of agricultural land and the greater investment in housing, roads and infrastructure needed."Hidden costs 'ignored' in Stansted choice", ''The Times'', 6 February 1980, p. 4.

Personal life

In 1942 he married Edith Frances Bentley and together they had two daughters and one son. In 1959 he married Dr Helen Mair, Director of Public Health for Medway Health Authority, and together they had one daughter.

References