William Stephen Goulden "Willy" Bach, Baron Bach (born 25 December 1946) is a British Labour 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 a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 2008 to 2010. He resigned from the opposition front bench when he was elected the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner on 6 May 2016. He did not stand again at the 2021 PCC election and was succeeded by the Conservative Rupert Matthews.

Early life

Bach was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, then an all-boys public school located within the precincts of Westminster Abbey. He studied at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree. In 1972, he was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, and then worked as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He went on to become head of

barristers' chambers In law, a barrister's chambers or barristers' chambers are the rooms used by a barrister or a group of barristers. The singular refers to the use by a sole practitioner whereas the plural refers to a group of barristers who, while acting as s ...

at King Street Chambers in Leicester on the Midland Circuit in 1996. He also was a councillor in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and Harborough.

Political career

Bach was the unsuccessful Labour parliamentary candidate for

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and for

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland * Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district fr ...

in both the

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

general elections. On 27 July 1998, Bach 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 Bach, ''of

Lutterworth Lutterworth is an historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwicks ...

in the County of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

'', where he lives. He was appointed a 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

Lords Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina *Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 19 ...

exactly one year later on 27 July 1999 in the 1999 government reshuffle, thereby enjoying the office as one of

Her Majesty Her Majesty may refer to: * Majesty, a style used by monarchs and wives of kings * Her Majesty (song), "Her Majesty" (song), a 1969 song by the Beatles about Queen Elizabeth II * ''Her Majesty the Decemberists'', an album from The Decemberists * H ...

's Lords in Waiting. From November 2000, Lord Bach served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the

Lord Chancellor's Department The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales. Created in 1885 as the Lord Chancellor's Office with a small staff to assist the Lord Chance ...

, until June 8, 2001 when, after the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, Lord Bach replaced The Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement. During Lord Bach's tenure, the United Kingdom was involved in choosing between the

Boeing X-32 The Boeing X-32 is a concept demonstrator aircraft that was designed for the Joint Strike Fighter program, Joint Strike Fighter competition. It lost to the Lockheed Martin X-35 demonstrator, which was further developed into the Lockheed Martin ...

and Lockheed X-35 designs for the

Joint Strike Fighter Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlan ...

project. Highlighting the level of British participation in the project, Lord Bach was present at the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

announcement that Lockheed Martin had won the competition. Lord Bach was also at the signing of "Type Acceptance" – essentially, the release into service – of the RAF's

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

platform. Following the 2005 general election, Lord Drayson succeeded Lord Bach at the Ministry of Defence, and Lord Bach was transferred to the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for Sustainable Farming and Food. He held this post until 2006, when he returned to the back benches. As of 5 October 2008, Lord Bach was brought back into government as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice is a junior position in the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice in the British Government. The present incumbent is Frederick Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, ...

replacing former

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Philip Alexander Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath, (born 19 May 1949) is a former health administrator and a Labour Co-operative member of the House of Lords who served as Minister of State (United Kingdom), Minister of State in the Department ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. Lord Bach was chairman of the SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems SpA Board of Directors and Director (UK) of Italian arms company

Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the 12th largest ...

until 2007, when he resigned from the board in order to return to his role as a government whip. In October 2008, Lord Bach was promoted to become a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the

, where he served until May 2010. In October 2013, Lord Bach became a Shadow

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

Minister on the

Official Opposition frontbench The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition fr ...

headed by

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...

. On 3 December 2014, he took on the additional role of Shadow Attorney General following the resignation of

Emily Thornberry Dame Emily Anne Thornberry, Lady Nugee (born 27 July 1960), is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. She served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from ...

. He was replaced by

Catherine McKinnell Catherine McKinnell (born 8 June 1976) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne North since 2010. She has served as Minister of State for School Standards since July 2024. ...

after the election of

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

as Labour Party leader.

The Bach Commission

The Bach Commission was founded at the end of 2015, and worked to find evidence on the current legal aid crisis in the UK justice system. Lord Bach chairs this commission, with Sir Henry Brooke as vice-chair. The Commission argued that LASPO had severely affected access to justice, and identified six key features in the justice system to demonstrate this.

Personal life

In ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'', Lord Bach listed his interests as watching

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

(he is a supporter of

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

). He is married, with three children. He is also a great-nephew of

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 ...

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

References

External links

Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, William Bach, Lord 1946 births Alumni of New College, Oxford Councillors in Leicestershire English barristers Labour Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Labour Party (UK) life peers Living people People educated at Westminster School, London Labour Party police and crime commissioners Labour Party (UK) councillors Life peers created by Elizabeth II