John Lawrence Whitty, Baron Whitty, (born 15 June 1943), known as Larry Whitty, is a British
Labour Party politician.
Early life
Born in 1943, Whitty was educated at
Latymer Upper School
(Slowly Therefore Surely)
, established =
, closed =
, sister_school = Godolphin and Latymer School
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, head_label = H ...
and graduated from
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
, with a BA (Hons) degree in
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
. He worked for
Hawker Siddeley Aviation
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...
from 1960 to 1962 and at the Ministry of Aviation Technology from 1965 to 1970.
Career
Trade unions
He was employed by the
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre
A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...
from 1970 to 1973 and the
General Municipal Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union from 1973 to 1985.
The Labour Party
In 1985, Whitty became the
General Secretary of the Labour Party
The General Secretary of the Labour Party is the most senior employee of the British Labour Party, and acts as the non-voting secretary to the National Executive Committee. When there is a vacancy the National Executive Committee selects a provi ...
, a post he held until 1994. He was part of the reforming leadership of
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British former politician. As a member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of ...
and in the role progressed a wide-ranging agenda including the modification of internal rules, a shift towards a national membership scheme, the expulsion of
entryist Militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
group members and, following the 1987 election defeat, the internal Policy Review. Whitty's period as General Secretary meant that he oversaw two general elections (the later in 1992), and the election of
John Smith and
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
as leaders of the party. He was the European Co-ordinator for the Labour Party from 1994 to 1997.
Peerage
Whitty 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 ...
on 21 October 1996 as Baron Whitty, ''of
Camberwell
Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...
in the
London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...
''.
From July 1998, Whitty was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the
Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was a United Kingdom Cabinet position created in 1997, with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The position and department ...
with responsibility for roads and road safety issues. From 1997 Lord Whitty was a Lord-in-Waiting (
Government Whip
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...
) covering education and foreign affairs. He became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at
DEFRA DEFRA may refer to:
* Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law
* Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department
{{Disambiguation ...
with responsibility for Farming, Food and Sustainable Energy in June 2001, serving in this position until the general election of May 2005.
Consumer Focus
Whitty was appointed as the first Chairman of
Consumer Focus
The New National Consumer Council, operating as Consumer Futures, was a non-departmental public body and statutory consumer organisation in England, Wales, Scotland, and, for postal services, Northern Ireland. It was established by the Consumers, ...
in July 2007. Consumer Focus was created through the merger of three organisations – energywatch, Postwatch and the National Consumer Council (including the Scottish and Welsh Consumer Councils) – by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007.
Personal life
Whitty is married, with two sons from a previous marriage. He is the brother of
Geoff Whitty
Geoffrey James Whitty Order of the British Empire, CBE (31 December 1946 – 27 July 2018) was a British economist and professor for equity in education at the University of Newcastle (Australia), University of Newcastle, Australia and who w ...
, a former Director of the
Institute of Education
IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to m ...
, London University.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitty, Larry
1943 births
Living people
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Labour Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting
Labour Party (UK) life peers
People educated at Latymer Upper School
Members of the Fabian Society
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Civil servants in the Ministry of Aviation
Civil servants in the Ministry of Technology
English trade unionists
Labour Party (UK) officials