Richard Crawshaw, Baron Crawshaw of Aintree,

OBE 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 ...

(25 September 1917 – 16 July 1986) was elected as a

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Labour Party Member of Parliament in 1964 but joined the

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(SDP) in 1981.

Early life

Crawshaw was born in Salford, the son of Percy Crawshaw and Beatrice (née Barrett). He attended Pendleton Grammar School, before leaving to train as an engineer at the age of 16. Prior to

World War II 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 ...

he had been a theological student, but soon after its outbreak he enlisted in the Royal Artillery and Parachute Regiment. Upon demobilisation he matriculated as an undergraduate at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, taking a special two-year 'war degree'. He then studied at the

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for a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, and took his pupillage at the

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. In 1948 he was called to the

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, serving on the

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Politics

Crawshaw became active in Liverpool politics after the war, representing the

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ward on

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from 1948. His council ward was very safe for the Labour Party, although the constituency that it was situated in –

Liverpool Toxteth Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

– was a marginal seat for the

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from its creation in 1950. He campaigned for issues such as better standard of council housing and state schools. Crawshaw was elected as MP for Liverpool Toxteth in 1964, beating the sitting Conservative

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by 2,784 votes. In parliament he was a strong supporter of the Territorial Army, and on one occasion voted against the annual Defence Estimates because they failed to make a large enough provision for it. He was reported to have been a very diligent MP, who called on constituents' homes in several streets each week, often to the surprise of the residents. In March 1981 Crawshaw was one of the initial group of 13 Labour MPs who founded the SDP. Unlike the other defectors, his participation was considered "something of a surprise to journalists." After Liverpool Toxteth was abolished he stood in 1983 for the new constituency of

Liverpool Broadgreen Liverpool Broadgreen was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Broadgreen suburb of Liverpool. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created for t ...

, which did not contain any part of his former seat. Notionally a safe Labour constituency, Crawshaw's candidacy was further complicated by the existence of an Independent Liberal on the ballot. He received 5,169 votes (11.24%), but was beaten into last place. Crawshaw was created a

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as Baron Crawshaw of Aintree, ''of

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in the County of

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'' on 17 May 1985.

Personal life

Crawshaw married Audrey Lima in 1960; they had no children. He listed his hobbies in ''

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'' as "Climbing, walking, free fall parachuting and youth activities", and in 1974 set a world record by walking 231 miles non-stop, raising thousands of pounds on behalf of the

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

.'Letters: Lord Crawshaw of Aintree', ''The Times'', 25 July 1986, p. 14. Crawshaw lived for most of his life in

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...

, a very safe Conservative area first in the constituency of

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

, and then in the

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constituency—both swing seats. During his time in Parliament he lived in Chelsea with fellow Liverpool Labour MP James Dunn, who also joined the SDP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawshaw, Richard 1917 births 1986 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Labour Party (UK) councillors in Liverpool Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Social Democratic Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Social Democratic Party (UK) life peers Officers of the Order of the British Empire UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool constituencies Life peers created by Elizabeth II