Norah Mary Phillips, Baroness Phillips, JP (née Lusher; 12 August 1910 – 14 August 1992) was an English educator, Labour Party politician,

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

and the founder of consumer and women's groups. She was the first Roman Catholic life peeress and was the first female government whip in the House of Lords.

Early life

Phillips was born on 12 August 1910 in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

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 ...

, England. Her mother was a socialist and

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

from

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and her father William Lusher hailed from

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and served in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. She was educated at a convent and was raised as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Career and activism

Phillips trained as a teacher at Hampton Training College. Whilst teaching, she became active in the local

Labour Party branch. She was a long-serving London

and co-founder of the National Association of Women's Clubs (1935). She 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 21 December 1964 as Baroness Phillips, of

in the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

. She was the first Roman Catholic life peeress and was the first female government

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

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 ...

, as Baroness-in-Waiting 1965–70. Phillips championed consumer issues and in 1965 founded the Housewives Trust to help shoppers obtain better value for money. In 1977, she became director of the Association for the Prevention of Theft in Shops. Phillips served as Lord Lieutenant of Greater London from 1978 to 1985. Phillips participated in an

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

interview in 1992, which is held in the National Life Story's: Fawcett Collection at the Women's Library,

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 ...

(LSE).

Personal life

In 1930 Phillips married fellow Labour Party activist

Morgan Phillips Morgan Walter Phillips (18 June 1902 – 15 January 1963) was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories. Life Born in Aberdare, Gla ...

, a Welsh former miner and later the General Secretary of the Labour Party 1944–1961. They had a son and a daughter, with their daughter

Gwyneth Dunwoody Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody (née Phillips; 12 December 1930 – 17 April 2008) was a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter from 1966 to 1970, and then for Crewe (later Crewe and Nantwich) from February ...

, becoming a long-serving Labour Member of Parliament. Gwyneth's daughter

Tamsin Dunwoody Moyra Tamsin Dunwoody (born 3 September 1958), sometimes known as Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey, is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of the National Assembly for Wales for Preseli Pembrokeshire from 2003 to 2007. She served in t ...

was also a politician, as a Member of the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

from 2003 to 2007. She unsuccessfully stood to succeed her mother as the Labour candidate in the 2008 Crewe and Nantwich by-election.

Death

Phillips died on 14 August 1992 in London, England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Norah Phillips, Baroness 1910 births 1992 deaths Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Labour Party (UK) life peers Lord-lieutenants of Greater London People from Fulham 20th-century British women politicians Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Life peers created by Elizabeth II