Anthony Robert Greaves, Baron Greaves (27 July 1942 – 23 March 2021) was a British politician and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

. He was a

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Education and early career

Greaves was born on 27 July 1942 in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. His father, Geoffrey Greaves, was a police driving instructor and his mother was Moyra Greaves (). He was educated at

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (day school, no boarding) for boys in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter of Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabet ...

before attending

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

, where he obtained a BA in

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

. After moving to the north-west he became a member of

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...

for 25 years, and also a local

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

Borough Council and subsequently on

Pendle Borough Council Pendle may refer to: * Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England ** Pendle (UK Parliament constituency) Pendle was a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Lancashire represented in the House of Commons of the Un ...

, on which he served until his death.

Community Politics

Greaves was the mover—rather than author—of a motion at the

Liberal Assembly The Liberal Party Assembly was the annual party conference of the British Liberal Party before its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats; the name is still used by the continuity Liberal Party created as ...

in 1970 which committed the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

to pursuing community politics. He stood as the

candidate for the Pendle constituency in the 1997 General Election, finishing third with 11.6% of the vote.

House of Lords

Greaves was made a

on 4 May 2000 as Baron Greaves, of Pendle in the County of Lancashire. He was an advocate of

social liberalism Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

, and went on record opposing some of the reforms to his party brought about by

Sir Menzies Campbell Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, (; born 22 May 1941), often known as Ming Campbell, is a Scottish politician, advocate and former athlete. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for North ...

and

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

. In 2010 Greaves went on record to express his personal frustration at the auction of a manorial title, the Lordship of Pendle, suspiciously close to his own. Greaves' concerns were later shown to be legitimate when it transpired that the Lordship of the

Forest of Pendle The Forest of Pendle is a hilly area to the east of Pendle Hill in eastern Lancashire, roughly defining the watershed between the River Ribble and its tributary the River Calder. The area is not a forest in the modern sense of being heavily w ...

belongs to the Barons Clitheroe and forms part of the

Honour of Clitheroe The Honour of Clitheroe is an ancient grouping of manors and royal forests centred on Clitheroe Castle in Lancashire, England; an honour traditionally being the grant of a large landholding complex, not all of whose parts are contiguous. In th ...

holdings they have held since the Second World War. Its sale was invalid and had not been authorised by its owners.

Criticism of sexual harassment claimants

In 2013 Lord Greaves attracted criticism for offering comment that appeared to make light of accusations, by four Liberal Democrat members, of sexual harassment by another Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Rennard. Greaves wrote on a Liberal Democrat party message board: "We don’t know the details of anything that may have happened. But it is hardly an offence for one adult person to make fairly mild sexual advances to another. What matters is whether they are . . . rebuffed. In passing, I would note and guess that if the allegations as made are a matter for resignation, perhaps around a half of the male members of the Lords over the age of 50 would probably not be seen again." In 2015 he described complainants—who had all by then resigned from the Liberal Democrats—of having 'a deliberate vendetta' against Rennard, writing "I certainly accuse some of the women of not telling the truth and of a deliberate vendetta where the facts became lost in the fog of vitriol."

Death

Greaves died at his home in Winewall,

Trawden Trawden is a village in the Trawden Forest parish of Pendle, at the foot of Boulsworth Hill, in Lancashire, England. The village co-operatively owns and runs its library, shop, community centre and pub. Samantha Bailey, a local resident, has c ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, on 23 March 2021, aged 78. His death was sudden: he had made his last speech in the Lords less than a week earlier. His funeral took place on 9 April 2021.

References

External links

Lord Greaves
profile at the Liberal Democrat website {{DEFAULTSORT:Greaves, Tony 1942 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English politicians 21st-century English politicians Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Party (UK) councillors Members of Lancashire County Council People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield People from the Borough of Pendle Politicians from Bradford Life peers created by Elizabeth II