John Henry Harris, Baron Harris of Greenwich, (5 April 1930 – 11 April 2001) was an English journalist, political aide and politician. After serving as a local councillor and political advisor and aide to a number of Labour politicians including

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...

, he 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 ...

in order to become Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Wilson and Callaghan governments between 1974 and 1979. He became a founder member of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

, becoming the Liberal Democrats Chief Whip in the House of Lords between 1994 and 2001.

Early life

Harris was born on 5 April 1930 in

Pinner Pinner is a suburb in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 38,698 in 2021. Originally a mediaeval ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, to Alfred George Harris and his wife, May. He was educated at

Pinner County Grammar School Pinner County Grammar School was a grammar school in Pinner, Middlesex, from 1937 to 1974. From 1974 to 1982 it became Pinner Junior College and then Pinner Sixth Form College. Pinner County Grammar School was built to accommodate 508 boys and g ...

before working as a journalist and completing

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the Directorate of Army Legal Services.

Political career

He became assistant editor of '' Forward'', a left-wing weekly newspaper, when it was brought to London in 1957, which was the start of his career in politics. He became the parliamentary candidate for

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

in the same year, but resigned in 1959 when ''Forward'' folded and he became personal assistant to

Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until ...

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

. Describing Harris's appointment,

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

said that it was "the best thing that has happened to Hugh for years". He rose to become the Labour Party's Director of Publicity between 1962 and 1964. During the same period he was a local councillor for the

new town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

(1957–63), becoming chairman between 1960 and 1961 and leader of the Labour group between 1961 and 1963. Harris became a political adviser when Labour came into government following the 1964 general election, firstly to Foreign Secretary

Patrick Gordon Walker Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker, Baron Gordon-Walker, (7 April 1907 – 2 December 1980) was a British Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament for nearly 30 years and twice a cabinet minister. He lost his Smethwick parliamenta ...

, and then to

successively at the

Ministry of Aviation The Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply. ...

, the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

and the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

, until the 1970 general election when Labour lost power. He became a political correspondent for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' until Labour returned to office in 1974, when he was created a

as Baron Harris of Greenwich, of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

in Greater London, and was appointed Minister of State for Home Affairs under Jenkins during the latter's second spell as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

. He is credited as being a successful minister, and served until January 1979 when he resigned to become Chairman of the

Parole Board for England and Wales The Parole Board () was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Parole Board is gover ...

(1979–1982). Harris was a leading member of the 'Yes' campaign for the 1975 referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...

, and was joint chairman of the publicity committee. He was a founder member of the

in 1981, and was a supporter of their merger with the Liberals in 1988. He became the new party's spokesperson in the House of Lords on home affairs until 1994, when he became Chief Whip. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1998. He held a number of other positions, including: trustee and chairman of UK's policing think tank, The Police Foundation, which he founded in 1979; President of the National Association of Senior Probation Officers (1983–1992); and board member and chairman of

Westward Television Westward Television was the first ITV franchise-holder for the South West of England. It held the franchise from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward Television provided a popular, distinctive and highly reg ...

. He died in London on 11 April 2001.

Personal life and character

He married twice, firstly to Patricia Margaret Alstrom in 1952, with whom he had two children. The marriage was dissolved in 1982, and he married Angela Smith in 1983. His obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described him as "probably the first ever spin doctor", and said: Speaking to

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, Liberal Democrat leader

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 19591 June 2015) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 to 2015. Kennedy wa ...

said Harris was "an exceptionally gifted all-rounder whose experience and insights dating back to Gaitskell were invaluable". Paying tribute 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 ...

, Lord Henley said that "he always behaved with integrity" and that when they were in agreement on an issue he could "always rely on his robustness in argument and on the iron discipline with which he marshalled his troops". Jenkins followed, saying:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, John Harris, Baron, of Greenwich 1930 births 2001 deaths People from Pinner Labour Party (UK) life peers Social Democratic Party (UK) life peers Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom English political journalists The Economist people British special advisers Life peers created by Elizabeth II