Trevor Arthur Smith, Baron Smith of Clifton, (14 June 1937 – 24 April 2021) was a British politician, academic and member 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 ...

. He was the Liberal Democrat spokesman in the House on

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and constitutional affairs.

Early life

Smith was born in the East End of London, the son of Arthur James Smith and Vera Gladys Smith (née Cross). He read Economics at 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 ...

in 1955-8, graduating with a BSc. He worked as a schoolteacher for the London County Council from 1958 to 1959.

Academic career

Smith's first academic post was as an Assistant Lecturer at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

from 1959 to 1960. He then became Research Officer for the Acton Society Trust in 1960–2, a trust set up by the

Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust {{Use British English, date=January 2018 The four Rowntree Trusts are funded from the legacies of the Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree. The trusts are based in the Rowntrees' home c ...

in the 1940s "to analyse the implications of the welfare state for liberty and the individual." In 1962, he became a Lecturer in Politics at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

, where he would remain for the next five years. In 1967, Smith moved to Queen Mary College at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, where he was to be based for the next 24 years. Initially a Lecturer and then a Senior Lecturer, he was appointed Professor in Political Studies in 1983. He also served as Head of Department in Politics from 1972 to 1985, and was Dean of Social Studies in 1979-82. By the mid-1980s, he was also playing an administrative role in the university as a whole - he was Pro-Principal in 1985–7, Senior Pro-Principal in 1987–9, and Senior Vice-Principal in 1989–91. Smith was an active member of the

Political Studies Association The Political Studies Association (PSA) is a learned society in the United Kingdom which exists to develop and promote the study of politics. It is the leading association in its field in the United Kingdom, with an international membership includi ...

since the 1950s, and was its Chairman in 1988-9, Vice-President in 1989-91, and President in 1991-3. In 1991, Smith moved to Northern Ireland, to take up the appointment of

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

, which he held until 1999. As the university was Northern Ireland's largest employer, Smith was heavily involved in the

Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political develop ...

throughout the 1990s, taking a non-sectarian "outsider" role.

Political activity

He was an active member of the Liberal Democrats and its predecessor, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, since 1956. A former Chairman of the Union of Liberal Students, he contested the 1959 General Election in West Lewisham, being the youngest candidate of any party that year. He was a board member of the

Ltd from 1975, and its Chair from 1987 to 1999; he retired from the board in 2007. During his time as Chair, the Trust saw a significant reorientation of its goals as a non-charitable trust geared towards funding political activity around democratic reform and social justice. In order to reflect this, it was renamed the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust in 1990. In 1997, he entered the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat peer, serving as his party's frontbench spokesperson on Northern Ireland from 2000 to 2011. During the 2010-5 coalition government, he emerged as a vocal critic of his party's participation in the coalition, including being one of only four Lib Dem peers to vote against their party's trebling of tuition fees, and calling for the resignation of his party leader,

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

. He retired from the House of Lords on 31 January 2019.

Honours

He was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the 1996 Birthday Honours for services to

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

, receiving the accolade from The Queen on 3 December 1996. 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 ...

as Baron Smith of Clifton, of Mountsandel in the County of Londonderry, on 4 November 1997. He was made an Honorary Fellow of

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

in 2003. He received the following

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s: *

Legum Doctor Legum is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Colin Legum (1919–2003), British anti-apartheid activist * Judd Legum (born 1978), American journalist, lawyer, and political staffer * Margaret Legum (1933–2007), Brit ...

(LLD) from

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

in 1992. *Legum Doctor (LLD) from the

in 1993. *Legum Doctor (LLD) from the University of Belfast in 1993. *Legum Doctor (LLD) from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

in 1996. * Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) from the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

on 6 December 1998. *

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(DLitt) from the

in 2002. *

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(DSc) from the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

in 2019. *Legum Doctor (LLD) from the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

in 2021.

Personal life

Smith married Brenda Susan (née Eustace) in 1960, with whom he had two sons; the marriage was dissolved in 1973. In 1979, he married his second wife, Julia Donnithorne (née Bullock), with whom he had one daughter, Naomi Smith of

Best for Britain Best for Britain is a civil society campaign formed of researchers, data scientists, strategists, and activists who say that they are working to fix "the problems Britain faces after Brexit". Originally launched on 26 April 2017 to stop Brexit ...

.Smith's entry in Who's Who, and Who Was Who, www.ukwhoswho.com

Bibliography

Books

*Trevor Smith with Alison Thomson, ''Anti-Politics: Consensus, Reform and Protest in Britain'' (London: Charles Knight, 1972). *Trevor Smith and Robert Benewick (eds), ''Direct Action and Democratic Politics'' (London: Allen & Unwin, 1973). *Trevor Smith, ''The Politics of the Corporate Economy'' (London: M. Robertson, 1979). *__________, ''The Fixers: Crisis Management in British Politics'' (London: Dartmouth, 1996). *__________, ''Workhouse to Westminster'' (London: Caper Press, 2018).

Book chapters

*Trevor Smith, 'United Kingdom', in Raymond Vernon (ed.), ''Big Business and the State: Changing Relations in Western Europe'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1974). *___________, 'Causes, Concerns and Cures', in F. F. Ridley and Alan Doig (eds), ''Sleaze: Politicians, Private Interests & Public Reaction'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009). *Trevor Smith and Alison Young, 'Politics and Michael Young', in Geoff Dench, Tony Flower and Kate Gavron (eds), ''Young at Eighty: The Prolific Public Life of Michael Young'' (Manchester: Carcanet Press, 1995). *Trevor Smith, 'Britain', in Jack Hayward and Michael Watson (eds), ''Planning, Politics, and Public Policy: The British, French and Italian Experience'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009). *___________, 'Industrial Planning in Britain', in Jack Hayward and Michael Watson (eds), ''Planning, Politics, and Public Policy: The British, French and Italian Experience'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Pamphlets

*Roger Cuss, Maurice Gent and Trevor Smith, ''New Unions for Old - New Orbits Pamphlet #6'' (London: New Orbits Group, 1961) *Michael Argyle and Trevor Smith, ''Training Managers'' (London: Acton Society Trust, 1962). *Trevor Smith and Anthony M. Rees, ''Councillors: A Study of Barking'' (London: Acton Society Trust, 1964). *Trevor Smith, ''Town & County Hall: Problems of Recruitment & Training'' (London: Acton Society Trust, 1966). *Trevor Smith (ed.), ''Economic Dilemmas and Political Choices'' (London: Acton Society Trust, 1973). *Trevor Smith, ''British Politics in the Post-Keynesian Era'' (London: Acton Society Trust, 1986). *Paul Hodgson,

Archy Kirkwood Archibald Johnstone Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, (born 22 April 1946), is a British Liberal Democrat politician. Education Kirkwood was educated at Cranhill Secondary School in Cranhill, Glasgow, and studied pharmacy at Heriot-Watt ...

and Trevor Smith, ''Directors’ Remuneration and Private Utilities — Centre for Reform Paper No. 11'' (London: Centre for Reform, 1999).

Peer-reviewed articles

*Robert E. Dowse and Trevor Smith, 'Party Discipline in the House of Commons - A Comment', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 16:2 (December 1962), pp. 159–164. *Trevor Smith, 'Politics, Economics, and Political Economy', ''Government and Opposition'', 8:3 (July 1973), pp. 263–279. *__________, 'Thoughts on British Politics', ''Higher Education Quarterly'', 30:4 (September 1976), pp. 462–469. *__________, 'Zur Verbindung von Gedanke und Tat in der britischen Politik: Der Fall Thatcher', ''Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen'', 12:4 (December 1981), pp. 562–572. *__________, 'White Collar, Blue Collar, Dog Collar: Speculations on the emerging ecclesiastical/industrial complex', ''Higher Education Quarterly'', 39:3 (June 1985), pp. 242–248. *__________, 'Britain Today: Crisis and Critiques', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 39:1 (January 1986), pp. 129–132. *__________, 'Political Science and Modern British Society', ''Government and Opposition'', 21:4 (October 1986), pp. 420–436. *__________, 'The UGC's Research Rankings Exercise', ''Higher Education Quarterly'', 41:4 (September 1987), pp. 303–316. *__________, 'Citizenship and the British Constitution', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 44:4 (October 1991), pp. 429–441. *__________, 'Post-Modern Politics and the Case for Constitutional Renewal', ''Political Quarterly'', 65:2 (April 1994), pp. 128–137. *__________, 'Political Sleaze in Britain: Causes, Concerns and Cures', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 48:4 (October 1995), pp. 551–561. *__________, 'Citizenship, Community and Constitutionalism', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 49:2 (April 1996), pp. 262–272. *Trevor Smith and Alison Young, 'The Fixers: Elite Regeneration as a Response to Crisis Management in Modern British Government', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 50:2 (April 1997), pp. 292–306. *

Patrick Dunleavy Patrick John Dunleavy (born 21 June 1952), is Emeritus Professor of Political Science and Public Policy within the Government Department of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He was also Co-Director of the Democratic Aud ...

Helen Margetts Helen Zerlina Margetts (born 15 September 1961), is Professor of Internet and Society at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), University of Oxford and from 2011 to 2018 was Director of the OII. She is currently Director of the Public Policy Prog ...

, Trevor Smith and Stuart Weir, 'Constitutional Reform, New Labour in Power and Public Trust in Government', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 54:3, (July 2001), pp. 405–424. *Trevor Smith, 'How Citizenship got on to the Political Agenda', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 55:3 (July 2002), pp. 475–487. *__________, '‘Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue’: Themes of Tony Blair and his Government', ''Parliamentary Affairs'', 56:4 (October 2003), pp. 580–596.

Journalistic articles

*Trevor Smith
'A momentous day in the Lords'
''OpenDemocracy'', 14 October 2008. *__________
'Conservatives will polarise Northern Ireland politics'
''OpenDemocracy'', 7 December 2008. *__________
'Northern Ireland's crisis needs more democracy, not less'
''OpenDemocracy'', 9 January 2010. *__________
'Will the Tories try to buy off the nats to block PR?'
''OpenDemocracy'', 4 May 2010. *__________
'Why I defied the Whips and voted against my government’s education policy'
''OpenDemocracy'', 17 December 2010. *__________
'We Lib Dems cannot return to "business as usual"'
''OpenDemocracy'', 9 May 2011. *__________
'Unelected Oligachy: corporate and financial power in Britain under the spotlight'
''OpenDemocracy'', 23 August 2011. *__________
'Trends and tendencies in contemporary UK politics and the future of the Lib Dems'
''Social Liberal Forum'', 10 January 2012. *Trevor Smith and Naomi Smith
'Save Our Party from the Precipice! A Lib Dem's Plan for Recovery'
''OpenDemocracy'', 31 January 2012. *Trevor Smith
'War with Iran? How Should Britain Proceed?'
''OpenDemocracy'', 31 January 2012. *__________
'Cameron's damage control strategy will further humiliate the Lib Dems'
''OpenDemocracy'', 6 September 2012. *__________
'Bereft of Ideas'
''Liberator'', 351, February 2012, p. 20. *__________
'Prime Minister as a mid-career job: what consequence for Britain?'
''OpenDemocracy'', 10 February 2012. *__________
'Whither the Lib Dems? Withering!'
''OpenDemocracy'', 7 May 2012. *__________
'Lib Dem prospects'
''OpenDemocracy'', 15 September 2013. *__________
'Even Bobbing Corks Sink Eventually'
''Liberator'', 366, June 2014, pp. 8–9. *__________
'The challenge facing the Liberal Democrats'
''OpenDemocracy'', 17 June 2015. *__________
'Politics against democracy: tracing the roots of Brexit'
''OpenDemocracy'', 18 July 2016. *__________
'How Universities Sold Their Souls'
''Liberator'', 388, January 2018, pp. 12–13. *__________
'After Carillion, can capitalism clean up its act? Or will Marx have the final word?'
''OpenDemocracy'', 15 February 2018. *__________
'Land of the Robber Barons'
''Liberator'', 389, March 2018, pp. 12–13. *__________
'The Withering of Democracy'
''Liberator'', 391, August 2018, pp. 8–10. *__________
'Polarised Britain in a Polarised World'
''Liberator'', 392, September 2018, pp. 24–25. *__________
'An Arranged Marriage, Contemporary-Style'
''Liberator'', 393, November 2018, p. 17. *__________
'Paddy Ashdown: a frank remembrance'
''OpenDemocracy'', 15 January 2019. *__________
'Staring Us in the Face'
''Liberator'', 402, July 2020, pp. 12–13. *__________
'Taking Care of Business'
''Liberator'', 405, February 2021, p. 32.

Arms

References

External links

Liberal Democrats biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Trevor Arthur 1937 births 2021 deaths Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Knights Bachelor Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of Exeter Academics of the University of Hull Academics of Queen Mary University of London Vice-chancellors of Ulster University Politicians from the London Borough of Hackney Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts Fellows of the Royal Historical Society