Helene Valerie Hayman, Baroness Hayman, ( Middleweek; born 26 March 1949) is a British politician who was
Lord Speaker
The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer, chairman and highest authority of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the membe ...
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 ...
in the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
. As a member of the
Labour Party she was a
Member of Parliament from 1974 to 1979. When she became an MP at age 25, she was the youngest MP of the 1974–79 Parliament. Hayman 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
in 1996.
Outside politics, she has been involved in health issues, serving on medical
ethics
Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
committees and the governing bodies of bodies in the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
and health charities. In 2006, she won the inaugural election for the newly created position of
Lord Speaker
The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer, chairman and highest authority of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the membe ...
.
Early life, education and early career
The daughter of Maurice (a dentist) and Maude Middleweek, Hayman attended
Wolverhampton Girls' High School and read law at
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 ...
, graduating in 1969; she was President of the
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic Debate, debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the ...
in 1969. She worked for
Shelter from 1969 to 1971, and for the
Social Services
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...
Department at the
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...
from 1971 to 1974, when she was named Deputy Director of the National Council for One-Parent Families.
[Helene Hayman profile at ''Who's Who 2009'', A & C Black.]
Personal life
She married Martin Heathcote Hayman (born 20 December 1942) in 1974; they have four sons.
Political career
She participated on
William F. Buckley's ''Firing Line'' television programs in January 1972 as a member of a panel discussing "The Irish Problem" and featuring then-MP
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, and on 24 July 1973 in an episode discussing whether the Apollo program had been worth it, and again on the 20 August 1973 episode with
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was a conservative British journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, i ...
on the theme "Has America Had It?". In February 1973 she was one of three commenters on an episode of ''Firing Line'' which featured Germaine Greer.
She contested the
Wolverhampton South West constituency in the February 1974 election. She was elected as the
Member of Parliament for
Welwyn and Hatfield in the
October 1974 general election. On her election, she was the youngest member of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
, remaining the "
Baby of the House" until the
by-election victory of
Andrew MacKay in 1977. She was the first woman to
breastfeed at
Westminster
Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
. She lost her seat, a marginal, to 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 ...
Christopher Murphy at the
1979 general election.
She was a member of the Bloomsbury Health Authority (later Bloomsbury and Islington Health Authority) from 1985 to 1992, and its Vice-Chair from 1988 onwards.
She served on the ethics committees of the
Royal College of Gynaecologists from 1982 to 1997, and of the
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
and
University College Hospital
University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...
from 1987 to 1997. From 1992 to 1997, she was a member of the Council of University College, London, and chair of
Whittington Hospital
Whittington Hospital is a district general hospital, district general and teaching hospital of UCL Medical School and Middlesex University School of Health and Social Sciences. Located in Archway, London, it is managed by Whittington Health NH ...
NHS Trust
An NHS trust is an organisational unit within the National Health Services of England and Wales, generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function (such as an ambulance service). In any particular location there may be several ...
.
Hayman was made 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 2 January 1996, and took the title Baroness Hayman, of
Dartmouth Park
Dartmouth Park is a district of north west London in the London Borough of Camden, north of Charing Cross. The area adjoins Highgate and Highgate Cemetery (to the north) and Kentish Town (to the south). Parliament Hill, London, Parliament Hill ...
in the
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...
. After the
Labour Party won the
1997 general election, she served as a junior minister in the
Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions and the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...
, before being appointed
Minister of State
Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
at the
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in July 1999.
She became a member of the
Privy Council in 2001, but left political office the same year to become chairman of
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
(2001–2005). She became chair of the
Human Tissue Authority in 2005. She was a Trustee of the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...
(2002–2006) and of the Tropical Health and Education Trust (2005–2006). She was a member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in 2005–2006. She was a member of the Lords Select Committee on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill, 2004–2005, and of the Lords Constitution Committee, 2005–2006.
Lord Speaker
In May 2006, after the position of
Speaker 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 ...
was separated from the office of
Lord Chancellor
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
as part of the reforms under the
Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law ...
, she was one of nine candidates to be put forward for the new role of
Lord Speaker
The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer, chairman and highest authority of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the membe ...
. She was nominated as a candidate by
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean and seconded by
Lord Walton of Detchant. Her narrow victory in the election was announced on 4 July 2006 and she became the first ever Lord Speaker. On her election,
Lord McNally, the
Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, called her the "
Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...
of British politics". Like the Speaker in the House of Commons, but unlike the
Lord Chancellor
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
who was also a judge and a government minister, the Lord Speaker resigns party membership and outside interests to concentrate on being an impartial presiding officer.
On 2 March 2011, Hayman gave a lecture to the Mile End Group in the Attlee Suite of Portcullis House. This was the third in a lecture series to commemorate the
Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 ( 1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 13) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two Houses of Parl ...
. On 9 May 2011, Hayman announced that she would not seek re-election for a second term as Lord Speaker; her successor was
Baroness D'Souza.
Honours and awards
*
Dame Grand Cross 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 ...
(GBE) in the
2012 New Year Honours for services to the House of Lords.
*On 21 September 2010: copy of the key of the city of
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
on a visit to Albania at the invitation of the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament.
* Honorary Fellow,
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 ...
See also
*
List of residents of Wolverhampton
References
External links
A lecture on House of Lords reform delivered by Baroness Haymanat the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayman, Helene
1949 births
20th-century English women politicians
21st-century British women politicians
Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge
Crossbench life peers
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of Newnham College, Cambridge
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Labour Friends of Israel
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Labour Party (UK) life peers
Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Living people
Lords Speaker
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
People educated at Wolverhampton Girls' High School
Politicians from Wolverhampton
Presidents of the Cambridge Union
UK MPs 1974–1979