William Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank

"William Rodgers" redirects here. For other people called William or Bill Rodgers, see Bill Rodgers (disambiguation).
The Right Honourable
The Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank
PC
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
In office
19 December 1997  7 June 2001
Leader Paddy Ashdown
Charles Kennedy
Preceded by The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
Succeeded by The Baroness Williams of Crosby
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
In office
14 June 1979  8 December 1980
Leader Jim Callaghan
Michael Foot
Preceded by Fred Mulley
Succeeded by Brynmor John
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
In office
4 May 1979  14 June 1979
Leader Jim Callaghan
Preceded by Norman Fowler
Succeeded by Albert Booth
Secretary of State for Transport
In office
10 September 1976  4 May 1979
Prime Minister Jim Callaghan
Preceded by John Gilbert (Minister of State)
Succeeded by Norman Fowler (Minister of State)
Minister of State for Defence
In office
4 March 1974  10 September 1976
Prime Minister Harold Wilson
Jim Callaghan
Preceded by George Younger
Succeeded by John Gilbert
Member of Parliament
for Stockton-on-Tees
In office
5 April 1962  9 June 1983
Preceded by George Chetwynd
Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1928-10-28) 28 October 1928
Liverpool, England, UK
Political party Labour (Before 1981)
Social Democrats (1981–1988)
Liberal Democrats (1988–present)
Alma mater Magdalen College, Oxford

William Thomas Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, PC (born Liverpool, Lancashire, 28 October 1928), usually known as William Rodgers but also often known as Bill Rodgers, was one of the "Gang of Four" of senior British Labour Party politicians who defected to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He subsequently helped to lead the SDP into the merger that formed the Liberal Democrats, and later served as that party's leader in the House of Lords.

Early life

Rodgers was educated at Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool and at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was general secretary of the Fabian Society 1953–1960 and a councillor on St. Marylebone Borough Council 1958–62. He also fought a byelection at Bristol West in 1957.

Member of Parliament

Rodgers first entered the British House of Commons at a by-election in 1962, and served in Labour Governments under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, becoming Secretary of State for Transport in Callaghan's Cabinet in 1976. Within the Labour Party he was known for being a highly effective organiser around centrist causes such as multilateral nuclear disarmament and Britain's membership of the EEC. He held the post until Labour's defeat in the 1979 general election. From 1979 to 1981 he was Shadow Defence Secretary. With Labour drifting to the left, Rodgers joined Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins and David Owen in forming the Social Democratic Party in 1981. He led the negotiations on the split of seats with the Liberals for the SDP side and his decision to go public on the difficulties encountered has often been blamed for starting the Alliance's slide in the opinion polls. On the other hand, only three seats eventually saw rival Liberal and Alliance candidates in the 1983 General Election so his tactics were in that sense successful.

Gang of Four

At the 1983 General Election the SDP–Liberal Alliance won many votes but few seats, and Rodgers lost his seat of Stockton North (known as Stockton-on-Tees before the boundary changes of 1983). He remained outside Parliament, unsuccessfully contesting Milton Keynes for the SDP in the 1987 General Election, until he was created a life peer as Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, of Kentish Town in the London Borough of Camden on 12 February 1992.[1] During that interval he was Director-General of the Royal Institute of British Architects and also became Chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority.

In 1987 Rodgers was chairman of the successful "Yes to Unity" campaign within the SDP in favour of merger with the Liberal Party. He became the Liberal Democrats' Lords spokesman on Home Affairs in 1994 and was its leader in the Lords between 1997 and 2001. His autobiography was titled Fourth Among Equals, reflecting his position as the least prominent of the SDP's founders.

Rodgers was interviewed in 2012 as part of The History of Parliament's oral history project.[2][3]

References

Bibliography

Party political offices
Preceded by
John Parker
General Secretary of the Fabian Society
1953–1960
Succeeded by
Shirley Williams
Preceded by
Peter Townsend
Chair of the Fabian Society
1966–1967
Succeeded by
Arthur Blenkinsop
Preceded by
The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
1997–2001
Succeeded by
The Baroness Williams of Crosby
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
George Chetwynd
Member of Parliament
for Stockton-on-Tees

19621983
Constituency abolished
Political offices
Preceded by
John Gilbert
as Minister of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
1976–1979
Succeeded by
Norman Fowler
as Minister of State for Transport
Preceded by
Norman Fowler
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
1979
Succeeded by
Albert Booth
Preceded by
Fred Mulley
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
1979–1980
Succeeded by
Brynmor John
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