Malcolm Newton Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd, Baron Shepherd of Spalding (27 September 1918 – 5 April 2001), was a British
Labour politician and
peer who served as
Leader of the House of Lords
The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...
under
Harold Wilson and
James Callaghan and member of the
Privy Council of the United Kingdom.
Shepherd was the son of the Labour politician
George Shepherd, 1st Baron Shepherd. With the
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...
, the right of the hereditary peers of an automatic seat in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
was removed, so Shepherd was created a
life peer as Baron Shepherd of Spalding, of
Spalding in the County of
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
to keep his seat.
Early life
Born in
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, Malcolm Shepherd was educated at the Lower School of John Lyon and the Friends' School, now known as
Walden School, an
independent school in the
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
of
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
. He was commissioned in the
Royal Army Service Corps in 1941 and served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy rising to the rank of Captain and transferring to what was known as 'Special Services'. Initially his mother and father were against him joining the Army because of their pacifist convictions.
After the end of the Second World War, Shepherd, together with his wife Allison, went to Singapore as an employee of a British trading company. Later Shepherd purchased majority shares in the firm of Fielding, Brown and Finch working in
Malaya and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. When his father died in 1954, he took six months leave, came to the UK to settle his father's affairs and made his maiden speech in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
before returning to the Far East and resuming his business career. In 1958, his company headquarters moved to London and Shepherd moved himself and his family to the UK.
Political career
Shepherd succeeded to the title of Baron Shepherd of Spalding on the death of
his father in December 1954, and took his seat in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
on 8 March 1955. In 1960 he became Deputy Opposition Chief Whip in the Lords, and became Opposition Chief Whip in 1964.
When Shepherd first joined the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
its membership was entirely composed of hereditary peers with a large inbuilt
Conservative Party majority. There were only about 25 to 30
Labour Party peers. Shepherd was a pragmatist who realised that if he was to enable the Bills sent from the House of Commons to pass through the House of Lords he had to do deals with the Conservatives and maintain good relations with all in the House.
Although a moderate in his political views he was an early advocate of
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
reform. He thought there was too much unnecessary ceremony and in 1971 argued that those entitled to vote in the Upper House be restricted to regular attenders.
After the Labour victory in the
1964 general election, he became
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms
The Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms is a post in the Government of the United Kingdom that has been held by the Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is th ...
and Government Chief Whip, House of Lords, a post he held until 1967 when he became Minister of State at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He also served as Deputy Leader of the House of Lords from 1968 to 1970.
Shepherd was appointed to the
Privy Council in the
1965 Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...
.
As Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a role that had previously been known as Secretary of State for the Colonies. During his tenure at The Foreign Office, Britain was busy shedding Empire and he was very involved in the new constitutions of colonies becoming independent, including
Fiji. Shepherd was also involved in resolving the
Caribbean island of
Anguilla
Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The terr ...
's demand for independence from
St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. He also had to deal with the
Biafra war in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. He won particular popularity in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
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, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
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by supervising the introduction of a new constitution which bound
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
more closely to the UK after the Spanish government of
General Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
closed the border. Shepherd's preamble to the
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
constitution stated that 'Her Majesty's Government will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar will pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes.' Within the Colony's population he is commonly known as "The Father of the Constitution". He was also responsible for Hong Kong during the riots of 1967 inspired by the cultural revolution; he maintained a relationship with the territory in the following years.
From 1970 to 1974, Shepherd was Opposition Deputy Leader, House of Lords. In 1974 he became
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords, a post he held until he resigned in 1976.
In 1975, Shepherd and his wife Allison accompanied The Queen and Prince Philip on the first state visit to
Japan.
In November 1975,
Harold Wilson caused controversy within the
Labour Party by sending him to represent the UK Government at the funeral of
General Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
.
Shepherd remained an active member of the House of Lords for the rest of his life, and on 16 November 1999 he was created a
life peer as Baron Shepherd of Spalding, of Spalding in the County of Lincolnshire
in order to keep his seat after the House of Lords Act removed the right of hereditary peers to an automatic seat in the House.
Business career
After the surprise defeat of
Harold Wilson's Labour government in the
1970 general election, Shepherd worked for
Rudy Sternberg's Sterling Group.
He returned to an active career in business after resigning from the Cabinet in 1976 and also held a number of public offices.
Shepherd was the first Chairman of the Civil Service Pay Research Unit board from 1978 to 1981. He served on the Packaging Council from 1978 to 1980. He was chairman of the
Medical Research Council from 1978 to 1982.
From 1976 to 1986 he was Deputy Chairman of Rudi Sternberg's, later to become Lord Plurenden, Sterling Group of Companies. In 1979 he became chairman of the
National Bus Company which was then one of the largest nationalised industries. Shepherd oversaw a large rise in its profits which reached £48m by 1984. He tried to persuade the Conservative government not to privatise the company, warned of the disappearance of loss-making rural services and frequently clashed with the Transport Secretary
Nicholas Ridley.
He was President of the Centre Européen de l'Enterprise Publique from 1985 and of the
Institute of Road Transport Engineers
The Institute of Road Transport Engineers, is a UK based membership institution, with global branches, originally
founded in 1944, In 2001 it agreed that it would found the Society of Operational Engineers when it was approached by the Institution ...
.
Family
In 1941, Shepherd married Allison Wilson Redmond (died 1998), the sister of broadcaster
James Redmond. Their two sons, Graeme and Douglas, were born in Singapore before he succeeded to the title.
He was on holiday in
Lanzarote (with his Whip's permission), where he died suddenly on 5 April 2001. His elder son Graeme inherited the hereditary title. He is buried together with his wife, Allison, in the yard of Muiravonside church in
Falkirk,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
Sources
Sources
*The Independent 7 April 2001 (obituary)
*The Guardian 6 April 2001 (obituary)
*The Times (obituary)
*The Daily Telegraph (obituary)
* Who's Who 1999
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Malcolm 2nd Baron Shepherd
1918 births
2001 deaths
Lords Privy Seal
Barons Shepherd
Shepherd of Spalding
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Leaders of the House of Lords
Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms
Royal Army Service Corps officers
Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers
Eldest sons of British hereditary barons
English expatriates in Spain
Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970
British Army personnel of World War II
Shepherd
Life peers created by Elizabeth II