William Henry Sefton, Baron Sefton of Garston (5 August 1915 – 9 September 2001) was a British Labour Party politician. Born in Garston,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

to a working-class family in 1915, Sefton was a plumber by trade. He became a trade unionist and joined the Labour Party in 1949. In 1953, he was elected to the Liverpool City Council. He was leader of the Liverpool City Council from 1964 to 1974 and Chairman of the

Merseyside County Council Merseyside County Council (MCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Merseyside, a metropolitan county in North West England. MCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974 by the Local ...

from 1974 to 1977. He stood in the 1959 general election as the Labour candidate for Liverpool Toxteth, but lost. He remarked afterward that "I don't think I could stand parliament, even being a minister. The best thing you could do is blow the place up." In 1978, he was made a life peer as Baron Sefton of Garston, of Garston in the County of Merseyside. His acceptance of the title caused surprise, as he was a self-described Marxist. 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 ...

, he was known for his outspokenness. Famously, in a 1988 debate concerning the Education Reform Bill, Sefton asked

Graham Leonard Graham Douglas Leonard (8 May 1921 – 6 January 2010) was an English Roman Catholic priest and former Anglican bishop. His principal ministry was as a bishop of the Church of England but, after his retirement as the Bishop of London, he becam ...

, the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, whether the Virgin Birth was to be believed.

Baroness Seear Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

moved "that the noble Lord be no longer heard", which passed without a

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

, thus stopping Sefton's speech. Sefton married Phyllis Kerr in 1940; she died in 1991. He later married Evelyn Pimlett in 2000. He died on 9 September 2001, aged 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sefton of Garston, William Sefton, Baron 1915 births 2001 deaths Labour Party (UK) life peers Trade unionists from Liverpool Labour Party (UK) councillors in Liverpool Politicians from Liverpool English atheists People from Garston Life peers created by Elizabeth II