Beatrice Serota, Baroness Serota, DBE (''née'' Katz; 15 October 1919 – 21 October 2002) 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Government minister and a Deputy Speaker of 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 ...

Early life

Beatrice Katz was brought up in the East End of London, the daughter of Jewish refugees from central Europe. She was nicknamed "Bea" or "Bee" from an early age.

Career

She joined the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in 1941 and worked in the crucial Ministry of Fuel and Power through the difficult years of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

until 1946.

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

appointed her as a Government

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

almost immediately and then proposed her for the sensitive post of deputy to

Richard Crossman Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 – 5 April 1974) was a British Labour Party politician. A university classics lecturer by profession, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1945 and became a significant figure among the ...

, having refused to promote

Roy Hattersley Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley, (born 28 December 1932) is a British politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. A member of the Labour Party, he was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook for over 32 years from 1964 to 1997, and ...

, whom he suspected of disloyalty. She had never been an MP herself, but became a thoroughly competent administrator. She had been a member of the old

Hampstead Borough Council Hampstead was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The pa ...

immediately after the Second World War and subsequently served successively on the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, as a member for

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, and the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

, as the member for

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

. Until the end of her life she was devoted to

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

.Obituary
telegraph.co.uk; accessed 4 March 2019. She became a

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

when she was on the GLC, a post that would stand her in good stead later. She was vice-chairwoman of the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...

, holding this post for three years until 1967. It was her distinguished career in local government and the work that she did for children which brought her the recognition of a seat in the

as a recognised authority on the subject. Serota chaired the LCC children's committee for seven years, and was a member of the Central Training Council for Child Care for a least nine years. Serota was chair of the advisory council on the penal system, and the first

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

for local government. She was a member of the Community Relations Commission and the BBC Complaints Commission and a

BBC Governor The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state ...

. She served on the Longford Committee on Crime and on the Latey Committee, which led to the lowering of the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor (law), minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, thus te ...

to 18. In the House of Lords, she became a Deputy Speaker in 1985, and then the principal deputy chairwoman of committees.

Education

Serota was educated at John Howard Grammar School for Girls and at the

LSE LSE may refer to: Education * London School of Economics, a public research university within the University of London * Lahore School of Economics, a private university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan * Lincoln Southeast High School, a public gove ...

, where she read economics and in 1976 she became an honorary fellow.

Personal life

Her future husband, Stanley Serota, whose family had come from Russia, lived next door; they were married in 1942. He qualified as a civil engineer. Serota had two children. Her son, Sir Nicholas Serota, was born in 1946. He later became the director of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

. Her daughter, Judith, was born in 1948 and later pursued a career in the arts.

Honours

On 20 January 1967, 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 ...

as Baroness Serota, of

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. In 1992 Baroness Serota was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE).

References

External links

Oxford Index #101077350Catalogue of the Serota papers
at th

of 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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Serota, Beatrice 1919 births 2002 deaths 20th-century British women politicians Alumni of the London School of Economics BBC governors Civil servants from London Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Jewish British politicians Labour Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Serota Members of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough Council Members of London County Council Members of the Greater London Council Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Women councillors in England English women civil servants