Alma Lillian Birk, Baroness Birk (née Wilson; 22 September 1917 – 29 December 1996) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

journalist, Labour Party politician and Government minister.

Early life and education

Alma Lillian Wilson was born on 22 September 1917 in Brighton. Her parents were Barnett Wilson, who ran a "successful greeting-card company", and Alice Wilson. She was educated at

South Hampstead High School ) , established = as St. Johns Wood School , closed = , type = Independent day school , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

before studying economics at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

Political career

After graduating, Birk became involved in Labour Party politics. She unsuccessfully ran for election to Salisbury City Council as a Labour candidate before being elected to Finchley Borough Council, where she served as leader of the Labour group from 1950 to 1953. She unsuccessfully stood as a Labour candidate to become a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

on three occasions: for Ruislip-Northwood in the 1950 general election and for Portsmouth West in the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and 1955 general elections. Birk was created a life peer as Baroness Birk of

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

in Greater London on 15 September 1967. In her maiden speech she called for an enhanced

probation service Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

to help deal with

juvenile crime Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

: In 1969 she was made chair of the

Health Education Council Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, Mental health, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World H ...

. She served as a Baroness-in-Waiting between March and October 1974. From 1974 to 1979 she was a

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

in the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

, and then became

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

in the Privy Council Office in 1979. In opposition, she spoke in the House of Lords on the environment between 1979 and 1986, and on arts, libraries, heritage and broadcasting between 1986 and 1993. She was a member of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...

and the

Howard League for Penal Reform The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921, ...

Personal life

She married Ellis Birk, a solicitor and director of the Daily Mirror Group, on 24 December 1939. The couple had two children. Their granddaughter,

Rebecca Birk Rebecca Birk is an English Liberal Jewish rabbi, rabbi of Finchley Progressive Synagogue in North Finchley, London. In 2016 the ''Evening Standard'' listed her as one of "London's most influential people". Life Rebecca Birk is a grand-daughter ...

, is Rabbi of

Finchley Progressive Synagogue Finchley Progressive Synagogue (FPS) is a Liberal Judaism congregation in North Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. The Rabbi is Rebecca Birk. Synagogue membership is around 350 families. History Finchley Liberal Jewish Congregation was ...

. In the 1960s she became associate editor of '' Nova''. During this period Birk also sat as a magistrate in an ordinary magistrates' court and in a matrimonial court, having become a justice of the peace in 1952.Hansard, House of Lords, Vol. 302, Col. 1170, 19 June 1969 She was chair of Redbridge Jewish Youth Centre between 1970 and 1996 and on the executive of the

Council of Christians and Jews The Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) is a voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom. It is composed of Christians and Jews working together to counter anti-semitism and other forms of intolerance in Britain. Their patron was Queen Elizabet ...

between 1971 and 1977. She was the president of the Association of Art Institutions from 1984 to 1996, and the president of the Craft Arts Design Association from 1984 to 1990. She was made a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

in 1980.

References

Sources

* 1917 births 1996 deaths Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II English Jews Jewish British politicians Alumni of the London School of Economics People from Brighton People educated at South Hampstead High School {{life-peer-stub