Maurice Harry Peston, Baron Peston (19 March 1931 – 23 April 2016) was a British

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and Labour

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 ...

. His research interests included macroeconomic policy and the economics of education.

Personal

Peston was born in 1931 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the son of Abraham Peston, a "pleater" in the garment trade, and Yetta R. (née Malt) Peston. He was educated at

Belle Vue Boys' School Beckfoot Upper Heaton (formerly Belle Vue Boys' School) is a co-educational secondary school in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the Hallmark Cards factory, not far from Bingley Road ( B6269). Previously a boys' school, B ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, and

Hackney Downs School Hackney Downs School was an 11–16 boys, community comprehensive secondary school in Lower Clapton, Greater London, England. It was established in 1876 and closed in 1995. It has been replaced by the Mossbourne Community Academy. History ...

. He graduated from 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 ...

and undertook postgraduate study at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. He married Helen Conroy in London in 1958. The couple believed passionately in state education, and sent all of their three children to the local comprehensive,

Highgate Wood School Highgate Wood School is a secondary school located in Crouch End in the North London borough of Haringey. It accommodates pupils aged 11–16, providing secondary education to 1,500 pupils. The school also has a sixth form (ages 16–18). Most ...

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, England, from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described as one of "a new breed of urban villages" in London ...

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

. One of their children is the journalist

Robert Peston Robert James Kenneth Peston (born 25 April 1960) is an English journalist, presenter, and author. He is the Political Editor of ITV News and host of the weekly political discussion show '' Peston'' (previously '' Peston on Sunday'') alongsid ...

, currently ITV's political editor.

Career

Academia

Peston founded the economics department at

Queen Mary College, London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

, and advised various government departments and Labour Secretaries of State from the 1960s through to the 1990s. He remained an Emeritus Professor of Economics at the College until his death in 2016. In 1981, he was one of the 364 economists who signed a letter to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' condemning

Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015), known from 1970 to 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to ...

's 1981 Budget.

House of Lords

Peston was created a

as Baron Peston, of

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

, in

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 ...

, on 24 March 1987. He immediately became Opposition Spokesperson for Energy (until 1997) and Education & Science (until 1997). He served as Opposition Spokesperson on the Treasury (1990–92) and Trade & Industry (1992–97). He chaired 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 ...

Offices Refreshments Sub-committee from 1993 to 1997. When Labour took over government, he chaired the influential House of Lords Committee on Economic Affairs from 1998 until 2005. Since then he worked on the Lords

Constitution Committee The Constitution Committee is a cross-party select committee of the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee's remit is "to examine the constitutional implications of all public bills coming befo ...

, and on the committee reviewing the

BBC Charter The Royal Charter for the continuance of the British Broadcasting Corporation, short: BBC Charter, is a royal charter setting out the arrangements for the governance of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It, and an accompanying agreement rec ...

Other interests

He was chairman of the

Pools Panel In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may enc ...

during the 1990s, adjudicating on the expected results of football matches in case any were postponed. Lord Peston was a patron of the

British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent non-religious people in the UK through a mixture of charitable servic ...

, as well as an Honorary Associate of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

. In the House, he spoke candidly about his existential views, describing himself as someone "who regards all religious belief as failing to meet even the most elementary epistemological and deontological criteria".

References

External links

Robert Peston: My late father Maurice Peston's influence
bbc.co.uk; accessed 24 April 2016. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peston, Maurice 1931 births 2016 deaths People from Mile End British critics of religions People educated at Belle Vue Boys' Grammar School, Bradford People educated at Hackney Downs School Alumni of the London School of Economics Princeton University alumni Academics of Queen Mary University of London Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics English economists Labour Party (UK) life peers Maurice Peston, Baron Peston Members of the Fabian Society Life peers created by Elizabeth II Jewish British politicians