Beatrice Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear (7 August 1913 – 23 April 1997) was a British social scientist and politician. She was leader of 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 ...

in 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 ...

from 1984 to 1988, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 1988 to 1997. She was also appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1985.

Career

Born in

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

, Surrey, Seear was educated at Croydon High School,

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. She became Personnel Officer at C & J Clark Ltd in 1935, staying until 1946. During this period she was seconded as a part-time member of staff at the Production Efficiency Board for the

Ministry of Aircraft Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, a post she held from 1943 to 1945. In 1946, she became a teacher of, and reader in, Personnel Management at the

, where she would remain until 1978. As a member of the

, Seear contested every UK general election from 1950 to 1970, coming third behind the

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

and Labour candidates on each occasion. She initially stood for

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and

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 Uni ...

, before attempting

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

. In

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 Patria ...

, she stood for Epping, and tried constituencies in northern England at the following two general elections –

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. The latter would be her last candidature at a general election, although she stood as the Liberal candidate for Wight and Hampshire East in the

1979 European Parliament election The 1979 European Parliament election was a series of parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the Eur ...

, coming second to the Conservative candidate. Seear was

President of the Liberal Party This is a list of people who served as president of the British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. The Liberal Party merged into the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats in 1988. The post was established in 1877 as president of the National Li ...

from 1964 to 1965, and of the

Fawcett Society The Fawcett Society is a membership charity in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation dates back to 1866, when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage. From 190 ...

from 1970 to 1985. From 1971 to 1984, she sat on the Top Salaries Review Board. She 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 18 May 1971 as Baroness Seear, of

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

. Following her elevation to the

, she was a Member of the Council at the

Industrial Society In sociology, an industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world ...

from 1972 to 1984, and President of the

British Standards Institution The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the Standards organization, national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies standards certification services ...

from 1974 to 1977. She was also President of the

Women's Liberal Federation The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom. History The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of f ...

in 1974. From 1975 to 1976, Seear was on the Hansard Social Commission for Electoral Reform, before becoming president at the Institute of Personnel Management, a role she held from 1977 to 1979. In 1980, she became visiting professor of Personnel Management at City University, London, continuing until 1987. Meanwhile, Seear was Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords from 1984 to 1988 – the year in which the Liberals merged with the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

to form the Liberal Democrats. Seear duly became Deputy Leader of the new Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, holding this office from 1988 to 1997. From 1991 to 1997, she was also Honorary President of the National Postgraduate Committee.

Carers champion

Baroness Seear was also remembered as a pioneer for

carers A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

. In 1963, as a Reader in Personnel Management at the LSE, she was approached by the Rev. Mary Webster, who had given up her work as a Minister to care for her aged parents, and hit the UK headlines with her highly effective campaigning work. Seear said that within five minutes of meeting Mary Webster, "I knew that she was someone quite exceptional".Tim Cook, 2007 Seear became one of twelve founder members of the NCSWD – the National Council for Single Woman and Her Dependants – on 15 December 1965; another prominent member was

Sir Keith Joseph Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, (17 January 1918 – 10 December 1994), known as Sir Keith Joseph, 2nd Baronet, for most of his political life, was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a minister under f ...

. She continued working for the movement and eventually became a Patron of the Carers National Association, when it was formed by a merger with the Association of Carers on 14 May 1988.

Personal life

Seear was a Christian. She was unmarried, and stated herself to be a republican. She died from cancer in London on 23 April 1997, aged 83.

Publications

* A career for women in industry (Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1964); * Policies for incomes (Liberal Publication Department, London, 1967); * Training: the fulcrum of change (British Association for Commercial and Industrial Education, London, 1976); * Interdependence and survival: population policies and environmental control (Wyndham Place Trust, London, 1976); * Women in the penal system (Report for the Howard League for Penal Reform, 1986); * Education: a quantum leap? (Hebden Royd Publications, Hebden Bridge, 1988).

References

*Tim Cook, 2007, ''"The History of the Carers Movement"'' *David Steel (Lord Steel of Aikwood), ''Nancy Seear'' in ''Dictionary of National Biography''; OUP 2004–08 *Mark Egan, ''Nancy Seear'' in Brack et al. (eds.) ''Dictionary of Liberal Biography''; Politico's Publishing, 1998 pp324–325

External links