John Henry Harris, Baron Harris of Greenwich, (5 April 1930 – 11 April 2001) was an English journalist, political aide and politician. After serving as a local councillor and political advisor and aide to a number of

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 ...

politicians including

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...

, he 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 ...

in order to become Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Wilson and Callaghan governments between 1974 and 1979. He became a founder member of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, becoming the Liberal Democrats Chief Whip in the House of Lords between 1994 and 2001.

Early life

Harris was born on 5 April 1930 in

Pinner Pinner is a London suburb in the London borough of Harrow, Greater London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 31,130 in 2011. Originally a med ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, to Alfred George Harris and his wife, May. He was educated at

Pinner County Grammar School Pinner County Grammar School was a grammar school in Pinner, Middlesex, from 1937 to 1974. From 1974 to 1982 it became Pinner Junior College and then Pinner Sixth Form College. Pinner County Grammar School was built to accommodate 508 boys and gir ...

before working as a journalist and completing

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 l ...

with the Directorate of Army Legal Services.

Political career

He became assistant editor of ''

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

'', a left-wing weekly newspaper, when it was brought to London in 1957, which was the start of his career in politics. He became the parliamentary candidate for

Bromley 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 ...

in the same year, but resigned in 1959 when ''Forward'' folded and he became personal assistant to

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 ...

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. Describing Harris's appointment,

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

said that it was "the best thing that has happened to Hugh for years". He rose to become the Labour Party's Director of Publicity between 1962 and 1964. During the same period he was a local councillor for the

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

(1957–63), becoming chairman between 1960 and 1961 and leader of the Labour group between 1961 and 1963. Harris became a political adviser when Labour came into government following the 1964 general election, firstly to

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

Patrick Gordon Walker Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker, Baron Gordon-Walker, (7 April 1907 – 2 December 1980) was a British Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament for nearly thirty years, and served twice as a Cabinet Minister. He lost his Smethwi ...

, and then to

successively at the

Ministry of Aviation The Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply. ...

, the Home Office and the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...

, until the 1970 general election when Labour lost power. He became a political correspondent for ''

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 ...

'' until Labour returned to office in 1974, when he was created a

as Baron Harris of Greenwich, of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

in Greater London, and was appointed Minister of State for Home Affairs under Jenkins during the latter's second spell as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

. He is credited as being a successful minister, and served until January 1979 when he resigned to become Chairman of the

Parole Board for England and Wales The Parole Board for England and Wales () was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The ...

(1979–1982). Harris was a leading member of the 'Yes' campaign for the 1975 referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of 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 was joint chairman of the publicity committee. He was a founder member of the

in 1981, and was a supporter of their merger with the Liberals in 1988. He became the new party's spokesperson in the House of Lords on home affairs until 1994, when he became Chief Whip. He was appointed to 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 1998. He held a number of other positions, including: trustee and chairman of UK's policing think tank, The Police Foundation, which he founded in 1979; President of the National Association of Senior Probation Officers (1983–1992); and board member and chairman of

Westward Television Westward Television was the first ITV franchise-holder for the South West of England. It held the franchise from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward Television provided a popular, distinctive and highly regar ...

. He died in London on 11 April 2001.

Personal life and character

He married twice, firstly to Patricia Margaret Alstrom in 1952, with whom he had two children. The marriage was dissolved in 1982, and he married Angela Smith in 1983. His obituary in ''

The 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 ...

'' described him as "probably the first ever spin doctor", and said: Speaking to

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, Liberal Democrat leader

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 ...

said Harris was "an exceptionally gifted all-rounder whose experience and insights dating back to Gaitskell were invaluable". Paying tribute in 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 ...

, Lord Henley said that "he always behaved with integrity" and that when they were in agreement on an issue he could "always rely on his robustness in argument and on the iron discipline with which he marshalled his troops". Jenkins followed, saying:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, John Harris, Baron, of Greenwich 1930 births 2001 deaths People from Pinner Labour Party (UK) life peers Social Democratic Party (UK) life peers Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom English political journalists The Economist people British special advisers Life peers created by Elizabeth II