John Diamond, Baron Diamond, PC (30 April 1907 – 3 April 2004), known as Jack Diamond, was a British Labour Party politician. Diamond was educated at

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physica ...

and became an accountant. Diamond became managing director of ''Capitol and Provincial News Theatres''. He was elected Member of Parliament in 1945 for the Blackley division of Manchester, but lost it in 1951. In 1946 and 1947, he was parliamentary private secretary to the Ministry of Works. He returned to 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 ...

in a 1957 by-election for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, caused by the death of its Labour MP, Moss Turner-Samuels. He served as

Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a senior ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom and is the second most senior ministerial office in HM Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The office holder is always a full ...

from 1964, a cabinet position from 1968, and Privy Councillor from 1965. He represented Gloucester until his surprise defeat in 1970 by the Conservative candidate, Sally Oppenheim. Diamond was appointed to the Privy Council in the 1965 Birthday Honours, and 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 Baron Diamond ''of the City of

'' on 25 September 1970. In 1981 he left the Labour Party for the new

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 ...

(SDP). He led the SDP 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 1982 to 1988 but opposed its merger with the Liberals, associating instead with the

Owenite Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperativ ...

'continuing' SDP before rejoining Labour in 1995.Sheila Gunn, 'Diamond refuses to yield ground.' ''The Times'', 15 March 1988, p. 4.

Family

Diamond was first married in 1932 and had two sons and a daughter. He had a daughter, Joan, by his second wife, Julie Goodman, whom he married in 1948. They separated in 1966 and divorced 10 years later. Upon his death at 96, he was survived by his children and by his third wife, Barbara Kagan, whom he had married in 1976.

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* 1907 births 2004 deaths People from Chalfont St Giles Politicians from Leeds Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Leeds Grammar School Social Democratic Party (UK) life peers UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs who were granted peerages Labour Party (UK) life peers Members of Parliament for Gloucester Jewish British politicians Members of the Fabian Society Treasurers of the Fabian Society Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990) peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Chief Secretaries to the Treasury {{Life-peer-stub