Freda Corbet (née Künzlen, later Mansell; 15 November 1900 – 1 November 1993) was a British Labour Party politician. Born in London, Corbet spent some time as a teacher in Cornwall before moving back to London to work with her husband in his shop. The couple were both members of the Independent Labour Party and were elected as councillors on

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

in 1934. There she served on the education committee, helping to introduce comprehensive schools to the city. Corbet was elected Member of Parliament for Camberwell North West in 1945, though she did not attend many debates, focusing more on her municipal work. She became

chief whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

of the London County Council in 1947, requiring councillors to check with her before even asking questions at public meetings. Her short stature led to her being known as the 'tiny tyrant'. In 1960, she became chairman of the general services committee, and oversaw the renovation of London's

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

. Her influential role in the establishment of

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

meant that she was given a place on their board for a few years. She abstained against a three-line whip in 1972, allowing UK to join the

European Common Market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

, and soon after announced her retirement from politics to spend more time with her unwell second husband, Ian McIvor Campbell. Corbet was awarded the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Southwark in 1974.

Early life

Freda Künzlen was born on 15 November 1900, in

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...

in London. She was the eldest child of her father Adolf Künzlen, a commercial clerk and her mother, Nellie, a political activist. Künzlen was educated at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

County Technical School after winning a scholarship in 1911. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the family adopted the name Mansell. She joined the Independent Labour Party in 1919, whilst she was studying at University College, London. Freda Mansell gained a first-class degree in history from University College, and became a teacher in Wales. She then moved to

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

, Cornwall, where she became mistress at Penzance Church High School for Girls. She married William Corbet, another member of the Independent Labour Party, on 5 August 1925 in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, moving back to London, where her husband ran a sweet shop and newsagent. Whilst working with her husband, she started studying law, and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1932. However, as a woman, she struggled to find employment in the legal field.

Role as politician

In 1927, Herbert Morrison urged her to stand as a candidate for the local council elections, having seen that she was a popular speaker at meetings and hoping to recruit more female candidates. She stood three times before being elected to the council for Camberwell North West in 1934, while her husband was elected to

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

council. From 1949, she represented

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

on the council, and she remained active until the council was abolished, in 1965. Corbet served on the

's education committee for 16 years, helping to introduce

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

s to the city. She also worked to ensure that council tower blocks included lifts. Corbet stood for Member of Parliament for

Lewisham East Lewisham East is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the by-election on 14 June 2018 by Janet Daby of the Labour Party. History Lewisham East was created for the 1918 general election. ...

for Labour at the 1935 general election, but was unsuccessful. She became a magistrate in 1940, working on the treatment of young offenders. During

World War II 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 opposin ...

, Corbet assisted victims of the London blitz in Camberwell, leading to her election as Member of Parliament for Camberwell North West in 1945 and then for

after 1950. As a Member of Parliament she did not attend many debates, instead focussing on her local duties, including fortnightly surgeries for her constituents. Corbet became

for the Labour London County Council in 1947 and was very strict in the role. She was known as the 'tiny tyrant' within the party, due to her height at and was required to give consent before councillors could publicly dissent or ask questions at public meetings. The role did make her popular,

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

compared the approach to a totalitarian state. Corbet represented Britain at the United Nations conference in 1948, helping to produce the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

. A replacement chief whip was voted in 1960, and Corbet was appointed chairman of the council's general services committee. There she oversaw the expansion of the

, helping to establish

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

and Purcell Room as well as the

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Roy ...

and the

. The theatre allowed the city a place on their board, which was held by Corbet between 1962 and 1965. In 1965, when the London County Council was disbanded, replaced with 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 ...

, Corbet left local government.

Later life

Corbet's husband died in 1957, and Corbet married Ian McIvor Campbell on 8 August 1962. Campbell's husband's health declined, and by 1974 she decided not to seek re-election. Her final action was to abstain on a vote on the European Communities Bill, in defiance of a three-line whip, leading to Britain joining the

. On 15 November 1974, Freda Campbell was awarded the

of Southwark. Ian Campbell died in 1976, and Freda died of bronchopneumonia and

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

Bromley, Kent Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

on 1 November 1993.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbet, Freda Members of London County Council Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Alumni of University College London 1900 births 1993 deaths 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 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people Women councillors in England