Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, Baron Jay,
PC (23 March 1907 – 6 March 1996) was a
British Labour Party
The Labour Party is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of Social democracy, social democrats, Democratic socialism, democratic socialists and trade u ...
politician.
Early life
Educated at
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
and
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
, Jay won the Chancellor's English Essay in 1927 and gained a First in
Literae Humaniores ('Greats') in 1929. He was a Fellow of
All Souls from 1930 to 1937. His early career was as an economics journalist working for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' (1929–33), ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' (1933–37) and the ''
Daily Herald'' (1937–41), then as a civil servant in the
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...
and the
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
, from 1943 as personal assistant to
Hugh Dalton
Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton, (16 August 1887 – 13 February 1962) was a British Labour Party economist and politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947. He shaped Labour Party foreign policy in the 1 ...
.
In ''The Socialist Case'' (1937) he wrote: "in the case of nutrition and health, just as in the case of education, the gentleman in
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...
really does know better what is good for people than the people know themselves". This statement was mercilessly exploited by the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
and won him long-lasting notoriety; it has often been paraphrased as "the man in Whitehall knows best".
Parliamentary career
Jay was elected member of Parliament for
Battersea North at a
by-election in July 1946, representing the
Labour Party,
and held the seat until the constituency was abolished at the
1983 general election.
Alongside
Evan Durbin
Evan Frank Mottram Durbin (1 March 1906 – 3 September 1948) was a British economist and Labour Party politician, whose writings combined a belief in central economic planning with a conviction that the price mechanism of markets was indispen ...
and
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until his death in 1963. An economics lecturer and wartime civil servant, h ...
, he brought the thinking of
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...
to the Labour Party, especially in relation to price determination. Later his views somewhat changed, as he became influenced by the successful operation of
rationing during the war. He served as
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the sixth-most senior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, after the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster-General and the ...
from 1947 to 1950,
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the First Lord of the Treasury, first lord of th ...
from 1950 to 1951 and
President of the Board of Trade
The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centu ...
from 1964 until being sacked in 1967. He was sworn of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1951.
He was opposed to the UK's entry into the
European Communities
The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the ...
, and campaigned for a 'no' vote in
the 1975 referendum.
Honours
Jay was created a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
as Baron Jay, of
Battersea
Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park.
History
Batter ...
in Greater London, on 8 October 1987.
Family
In 1933 he married the councillor
Peggy Jay
Margaret Christian Jay, Baroness Jay ( Garnett; 4 January 1913 – 21 January 2008) was an English Labour councillor.
Education and professional life
As a young girl, Garnett attended St Paul's Girls' School in London, where she befriended Shiel ...
; their marriage ended in divorce. Their eldest son is the economist
Peter Jay, who married (and later divorced)
Margaret Callaghan, daughter of
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 ...
with whom Douglas Jay had served in government. Their twin daughters, Helen and Catherine, achieved a fashionable profile in the 1960s.
Douglas Jay's second wife, Mary Thomas, had been one of his assistant private secretaries at the Board of Trade.
Publications
* ''The Socialist Case'' (1937)
* ''Who is to Pay for the War and the Peace?'' (1941)
* ''Socialism in the New Society'' (1962)
* ''After the Common Market'' (1968)
* ''Change and Fortune'' (1980) (autobiography)
* ''Sterling: A Plea for Moderation'' (1985)
Notes and references
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Douglas
1907 births
1996 deaths
Alumni of New College, Oxford
British Secretaries of State
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Labour Party (UK) life peers
Members of the Fabian Society
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers in the Attlee governments, 1945–1951
Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970
People educated at Winchester College
Presidents of the Board of Trade
UK MPs 1945–1950
UK MPs 1950–1951
UK MPs 1951–1955
UK MPs 1955–1959
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