Stanley Clinton-Davis, Baron Clinton-Davis, PC (born Stanley Clinton Davis; 6 December 1928) is a British politician and former solicitor. A member of the Labour Party, he served as

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 ...

(MP) for

Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail areas to the north o ...

from

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, and was a minister in the Labour governments of Prime Ministers

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...

and

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

. He was

European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

in the

Delors Commission The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the eighth President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms (though the last one lasted for around a year). The first term lasted ...

(1985–1989). In 1990, he became 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 Clinton-Davis, of Hackney in the

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

, sitting on the Labour benches 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 Westminst ...

until his retirement in 2018. He changed his name to Stanley Clinton-Davis by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party. Etymology The ...

Early life

Davis was born in Hackney on 6 December 1928, the only child of Jewish parents Sidney and Lilly Davis. He was educated at

Hackney Downs School Hackney Downs School was an 11–16 boys, community comprehensive secondary school in Lower Clapton, Greater London, England. It was established in 1876 and closed in 1995. It has been replaced by the Mossbourne Community Academy. History ...

Mercers' School The Mercers' School was an independent school in the City of London, England, with a history going back at least to 1542, and perhaps much further. It was operated by the Worshipful Company of Mercers and was closed in 1959. History After the di ...

, and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where he graduated in Law in 1950. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1953.

Early career

Davis became interested in Labour politics from an early age. He joined the Labour Party at the age of 15, and formed the Labour Society at

. He was a member of the executive council of the National Association of Labour Student Organisations (1948–50). In 1959, Davis was elected as a councillor for the

. He served as a councillor until 1971 and was Chairman of Social Services. He was Mayor of Hackney from 1968 to 1969.

House of Commons

Davis first stood as Parliamentary candidate for the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

-held constituency of Portsmouth Langstone at the 1955 general election. He then contested the marginal constituency of Yarmouth at the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

general elections; on all three occasions, he was unsuccessful. Davis was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at the 1970 general election as MP for

. He served as MP for the constituency until 1983, when the constituency was abolished due to boundary changes. Davis' first ministerial post, which he held from 1974 until 1979, was as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Companies, Aviation and Shipping in the governments of Prime Ministers

and

. Following the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

's victory in the 1979 general election, Davis remained on the Labour front bench as the Opposition Spokesman on Trade, Prices and Consumer Protection (1979–81) and Foreign Affairs (1981–83). He was also the first MP ever to ask

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 from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

a question at Prime Minister’s Questions (on 22 May 1979).

European Commission

In 1985, Davis was appointed to serve as

alongside Lord Cockfield in the

. He was the European Commissioner for Transport, the Environment and Nuclear Safety until 1989. In 1990, Clinton-Davis was awarded the Grand Cross Order of King Leopold II of Belgium for services to the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...

. Clinton-Davis was a member of the United Kingdom Delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up ...

and

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...

(1999–2001).

House of Lords

Clinton-Davis was appointed to the

as 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 ...

on 8 May 1990, taking the title of Baron Clinton-Davis, ''of Hackney in the

''. He was Opposition Spokesman for Transport (1990–97), Supporting Spokesperson for Trade and Industry (1990–96) and Foreign Affairs (1990–97). Following the Labour victory at the 1997 general election, Prime Minister

decided to use the experience of a handful of former Labour ministers at the commencement of his

New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...

project. Clinton-Davis was appointed as

Minister of State for Trade The Minister of State for Trade Policy is a mid-level role at the Department for International Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Greg Hands, who took the office on 9 October 2022. The minister deputizes for ...

, serving in the Department of Trade and Industry until 1998. Clinton-Davis was appointed and sworn in as a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

in 1998. He retired from the House of Lords on 10 January 2018.

Other offices and honorary positions

Clinton-Davis has held a number of senior positions, including chairman (1989–96) and later president (1996–97) of the

British Refugee Council The Refugee Council is a UK based organisation which works with refugees and asylum seekers. The organisation provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as support for other refugee and asylum seeker organisations. The R ...

. Clinton-Davis was chairman (1980–84, 1989–2001) and later president (2001) of th
Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS)
He was vice-president of th
Society of Labour Lawyers
(from 1991 onwards), vice-president of the

Chartered Institute of Environmental Health The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) is a professional membership body concerned with environmental health and promoting standards in the training and education of environmental health professionals. History The history of the ...

, Honorary Member of the Executive Council of Justice and president of the Association of Municipal Authorities. Clinton-Davis was also chairman of the Packaging Standards Council (1993–97). From 1980 to 2011, Clinton-Davis was president of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) and is now Honorary Life President. He was also president of th
UK Pilots Association (Marine)
Clinton-Davis was a member (1989–1998) and later chairman (1999–2004) of th
Sasakawa Environment Prize
Selection Committee. The award later came under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Clinton-Davis is an honorary fellow of the

Polytechnic University of Bucharest Politehnica University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea Politehnica din București) is a technical university in Bucharest, Romania. 200 years of activity have been celebrated lately, as the university was founded in 1818.King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and an honorary fellow of

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

Legal career

Clinton-Davis became a solicitor in November 1953 and was a founding partner of Clintons, becoming head of its Hackney branch, Clinton Davis & Co. He also worked as consultant on European Law and Affairs for S. J. Berwin & Co (1989–97, 1998–2003).

Jewish affairs

Clinton-Davis has spoken in Parliament on numerous occasions on issues affecting the Jewish community and Israel. He was vice president of the

All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism The All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The group exists to "To combat antisemitism and help develop and seek implementation of effective public policy to combat antisemitism". The ...

and has been a supporter of

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that promotes support for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party and the Isra ...

. He was an executive member of the

Institute of Jewish Affairs An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

(1993–97). He is a former director of ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' and a former member of the

Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after only the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established ...

Personal life

In 1954, he married Frances Jane Lucas; they have a son and three daughters. Outside politics, his recreations are golf,

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and reading biographical histories.

Footnotes

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1979'' * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton Davis, Stanley 1928 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Friends of Israel UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 D Clinton-Davis British European Commissioners Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Hackney Downs School People educated at Mercers' School Alumni of King's College London Fellows of King's College London Jewish British politicians European Commissioners 1985–1988