Irwin Norman Bellow, Baron Bellwin JP DL (7 February 1923 – 11 February 2001) was a British Conservative politician.

Biography

Bellow was born to a Jewish family in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, and was educated at Leeds Grammar School and the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, where he read Law. He then joined the family's sewing-machine firm. Bellow served as the Leader of the

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

from 1975 to 1979. As council leader, he sold 3,000

council house A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...

s and cut

rates Rate or rates may refer to: Finance * Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government * Exchange rate, rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another Mathematics and science * Rate (mathema ...

, which brought him to the attention of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. On 21 May 1979, he 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 ...

as Baron Bellwin, of the

City of Leeds The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell, W ...

. Between 1979 and 1983, Bellwin served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at 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, ...

under Michael Heseltine. Between 1983 and 1984 he was Minister of State for the Environment (Local Government). As a junior minister, Bellwin piloted 28 bills through the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, including the Thatcher government's ' Right to Buy' legislation and the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species (especia ...

. He spoke more than 1,000 times in the Lords during the passage of Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980. The

Bellwin scheme The Bellwin scheme is a United Kingdom government emergency financial assistance which "reimburses local authorities for costs incurred on, or in connection with, their immediate actions to safeguard life and property or to prevent suffering or se ...

, which he introduced in 1983, is named after him. He resigned from the government in 1984, allegedly because of his opposition to Margaret Thatcher's plans to abolish the Labour-dominated metropolitan county councils. Bellwin was made a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Leeds in 1969 and became a Deputy Lieutenant for

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

in 1991. He was Master of the Worshipful Company of World Traders from 1988 to 1989. He married Doreen Saperia in 1948; they had one son and two daughters.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellow, Irwin, Baron Bellwin 1923 births 2001 deaths Conservative Party (UK) life peers Jewish British politicians English justices of the peace Deputy Lieutenants of West Yorkshire Councillors in Leeds Alumni of the University of Leeds People educated at Leeds Grammar School Politicians from Leeds Businesspeople from Leeds 20th-century English businesspeople