Barbara Castle
Encyclopedia
Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn (née Betts), PC
, GCOT
(6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was a British
Labour Party
politician
.
Elected to Parliament in 1945, she rose to become one of the most important Labour Party politicians of the twentieth century. Until her record was broken in 2007 by Gwyneth Dunwoody
, Barbara Castle held the record as the female MP with the longest continuous service. She is the first, and to date the only, woman to have held the office of First Secretary of State
.
to Frank and Annie Betts, and raised in Pontefract
and Bradford
.
Castle was introduced to socialist politics and beliefs from a young age. She grew up in a politically active family home where there was "always someone sleeping on the sofa". Her older sister Marjorie later became a pioneer of the Inner London Education Authority
, while her brother Jimmie engaged in field work with Oxfam
in Nigeria
. She joined the Labour Party
at a young age.
Her father was a tax inspector, avoiding military service in World War I
due to his high rank in a valued occupation (known as a reserved occupation
). It was because of the nature of the tax-collecting profession, and the different promotions he received, that the family moved around the country on different occasions. Having moved to Bradford
in 1922, the Betts family swiftly became involved in the city's activity with the Independent Labour Party
. Although her father was prohibited from formal political activity because of his role as a civil servant, he became editor of the Bradford Pioneer
, the city's socialist newspaper, after William Leach
was elected to Parliament in the 1935 general election.
Castle's mother, Annie Betts, ran the family home, also partaking in the operation of a soup-kitchen for the town's miners. After Barbara had left home Annie stood for elections, and served as a Labour councillor
, a role which she kept quite secret from even her close family.
with a third-class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Castle began serious political activity at Oxford, serving as the Treasurer of the Oxford University Labour Club
, the highest position a woman could hold in the club at the time. Finding her time at university difficult in many respects, she struggled to accept the atmosphere of an institution which had only recently begun to challenge sexist attitudes. She was scornful of the elitist nature of some elements of the institution, branding the Oxford Union
"that cadet class of the establishment".
She was elected to St. Pancras Borough Council
in 1937, and in 1943 she spoke at the annual Labour Party Conference for the first time. She was a senior administrative officer at the Ministry of Food and an ARP
warden during the Blitz
.
on the Daily Mirror, which by this time had become strongly pro-Labour. In the 1945 general election
, which Labour won in a landslide, she became MP
for Blackburn, Lancashire
.
She soon achieved a reputation as a left-winger and a rousing speaker. During the 1950s she was a high-profile Bevanite
and made a name for herself as a vocal advocate of decolonisation and the Anti-Apartheid Movement
.
government of 1964–1970, she held a succession of ministerial posts. She entered the Cabinet as the first Minister for Overseas Development
, in so doing becoming only the fourth woman in British history ever to hold position in a Cabinet, after Margaret Bondfield
, Ellen Wilkinson
and Florence Horsbrugh
.
As Minister of Transport
(23 December 1965–6 April 1968), she introduced the breathalyser to combat the then recently acknowledged crisis of drink-driving, and also made permanent the 70mph speed limit
. She presided over the closure of approximately 2050 miles of railways as she enacted her part of the Beeching cuts
—a betrayal of pre-election commitments by the Labour party to halt the proposals. Nevertheless, she refused closure of several lines, one example being the Looe Valley Line
in Cornwall, and introduced the first Government subsidies for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in the Transport Act 1968. One of her most memorable achievements as Transport minister was to pass legislation decreeing that all (new) cars had to be fitted with seat-belt
s. Despite being appointed to the Ministry of Transport, a role which she was originally unenthusiastic about, Castle could not actually drive herself, and was chauffeured to functions, the Labour politician Hazel Blears
driving her at one time as a young Labour party activist in the 1980s. Despite her lack of a driving licence, she attracted controversy when she told local government leaders to give added emphasis to motor vehicle access in urban areas, as "most pedestrians are walking to or from their cars."
As Secretary of State for Employment
, she was also appointed First Secretary of State
by Wilson, bringing her firmly into the heart of government. She was never far from controversy which reached a fever pitch when the trade union
s rebelled against her proposals to reduce their powers in her 1969 white paper
, 'In Place of Strife
'. This also involved a major cabinet split, with threatened resignations, hot tempers and her future nemesis James Callaghan
breaking ranks to publicly try to undermine the bill. The whole episode alienated her from many of her friends on the left, with the Tribune
newspaper railing very hard against the bill, which they held to be attacking the workers without attacking the bosses. The split is often said to be partly responsible for Labour's defeat at the 1970 general election. The eventual deal with the unions dropped most of the contentious clauses, leaving not much to show. Despite failing to be elected to the shadow cabinet, Castle remained as the Labour shadow spokesperson on Employment in the early days of the incoming Conservative government in 1970, which introduced many of her policy suggestions as part of their Industrial Relations Act. When she was attacking the Conservative bill, the government simply pointed to her own white paper, leading to Wilson reshuffling her first to the health portfolio and then out of the shadow cabinet.
She also helped make history when she intervened in the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968, in which the women of the Dagenham Ford Plant demanded to be paid the same as their male counterparts. She helped resolve the strike, which resulted in a pay rise for Ford's female workers bringing them to 92% of what the men received. Most significantly, as a consequence of this strike, Castle put through the Equal Pay Act 1970
. A 2010 British film, Made in Dagenham
, was based on the Ford strike; Miranda Richardson
portrayed Castle in the film.
In 1974, after Harold Wilson
's defeat of Edward Heath
, Castle became Secretary of State for Health
and Social Services
. In the 1975 referendum debate
she took a Eurosceptic
stance. During a debate with Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe
he asked her whether, if the vote would be yes, she would stay on as a minister. To this she replied "If the vote is yes my country will need me more than ever." Despite her views she later became a Member of the European Parliament
(1979–1989).
Castle remained in cabinet until Wilson's resignation in April 1976, despite his own concerns about her ability. The head of the Downing Street policy unit, Bernard Donoghue, records in his diary that he warned Wilson that Castle's dogged pursuit of personal policy stances on public health would "wreck the NHS". Wilson agreed, but admitted he would leave it to his successor to resolve. Castle lost her place as a cabinet minister when her bitter political enemy James Callaghan
took over from Wilson as prime minister
in 1976 and dismissed her almost immediately upon taking office. In an interview many years later, discussing her removal from office by James Callaghan, she claimed that the Prime Minister had told her he wanted "somebody younger" in the Cabinet, to which she famously remarked that perhaps the most restrained thing she had ever achieved in her life was not to reply with "Then why not start with yourself, Jim?"
stance, less than a month after leaving Westminster at the 1979 general election she stood for and was elected to the European Parliament
, writing in the Tribune
that "politics is not just about policies: it is about fighting for them in every available forum and at every opportunity."
She represented Greater Manchester North
from 1979–1984, and was then elected for another five years to represent Greater Manchester West
from 1984–1989. She was, at that time, the only British MEP to have held a cabinet position.
In the European Parliament Castle led Labour's delegation, serving as vice-chair of the Socialist Group and as a member of the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development
and also the Delegation for relations with Malta
.
in Silver", a South African award to foreign nationals for friendship with that country. In a statement the South African government recognised Castle's "outstanding contribution to the struggle against apartheid and the establishment of a non-sexist, non-racial and democratic South Africa". This can be seen throughout Castle's career with her active support for the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) in Britain from the very start of its existence and her continued interest and devotion to colonial issues within Parliament.
In June 2003 Castle was posthumously awarded an Honorary degree
from the Open University
as Doctor of the University.
Castle also received a Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
in 1990, for services to European democracy.
In 2008, Barbara Castle was named by The Guardian
as one of four of 'Labour's greatest heroes'.
In September 2008 Northern Rail, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and PTEG (Passenger transport executive
Group) named a train after her. The plaque was unveiled by Barbara's niece, Sonya Hinton, and Ruth Kelly
MP (then Secretary of State for Transport). A commemorative brochure of the event was produced by PTEG.
, chronicling her time in office from 1964–1976 and providing an insight into the workings of Cabinet Government. A review in the London Review of Books
at the time of their publication claimed, "Barbara Castle's diary shows more about the nature of Cabinet Government than any previous publication...it is, I think, better than Crossman", a reference to the published diaries of former Cabinet Minister Richard Crossman
. However, when Enoch Powell
reviewed her diaries he remarked that the "overpowering impression left on the reader's mind by her diary is that of triviality: the largest decisions and the profoundest issues are effortlessly trivialised."
in her own right, as Baroness Castle of Blackburn. She remained active in politics right up until her death, attacking the then Chancellor
, Gordon Brown
, for his refusal to link pensions to earnings at the Labour party conference in 2001.
, of pneumonia and chronic lung disease.
A biography by Lisa Martineau, Barbara Castle: Politics and Power (EAN 0233994807), was published in 2000 and Red Queen: The Authorised Biography of Barbara Castle by Anne Perkins (ISBN 0-333-90511-3) in 2003.
She was commemorated on a postage stamp
issued as part of the Royal Mail's "Women of Distinction" series issued on 14 October 2008 for piloting the Equal Pay Act through parliament. She appears on the 81p denomination.
Castle was portrayed by British actress Miranda Richardson
in the 2010 film Made in Dagenham
, dealing with the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham assembly plant
and Castle's subsequent involvement in protesting against sexual discrimination. After the film's release, Richardson was nominated as Best Supporting Actress at the BAFTA Film Awards.
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Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, GCOT
Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo
The Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo is a South African honour. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and is granted by the president of South Africa, to foreign citizens who have promoted South African interests and aspirations through co-operation. solidarity, and support...
(6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Elected to Parliament in 1945, she rose to become one of the most important Labour Party politicians of the twentieth century. Until her record was broken in 2007 by Gwyneth Dunwoody
Gwyneth Dunwoody
Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Exeter from 1966 to 1970, and then for Crewe from 1974 to her death in 2008...
, Barbara Castle held the record as the female MP with the longest continuous service. She is the first, and to date the only, woman to have held the office of First Secretary of State
First Secretary of State
First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the Government of the United Kingdom, principally regarded as purely honorific. The title, which implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State, has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary...
.
Early life
The youngest of three children, she was born at 67 Derby Road, ChesterfieldChesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
to Frank and Annie Betts, and raised in Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
and Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
.
Castle was introduced to socialist politics and beliefs from a young age. She grew up in a politically active family home where there was "always someone sleeping on the sofa". Her older sister Marjorie later became a pioneer of the Inner London Education Authority
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority was the education authority for the 12 inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990.-History:...
, while her brother Jimmie engaged in field work with Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. She joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
at a young age.
Her father was a tax inspector, avoiding military service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
due to his high rank in a valued occupation (known as a reserved occupation
Reserved occupation
A reserved occupation is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt - in fact forbidden - from military service....
). It was because of the nature of the tax-collecting profession, and the different promotions he received, that the family moved around the country on different occasions. Having moved to Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
in 1922, the Betts family swiftly became involved in the city's activity with the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
. Although her father was prohibited from formal political activity because of his role as a civil servant, he became editor of the Bradford Pioneer
Bradford Pioneer
Bradford Pioneer is a defunct newspaper published in Bradford between 1913 to 1936 under the auspices of the Bradford Independent Labour Party, Trades Council and Workers' Municipal Federation....
, the city's socialist newspaper, after William Leach
William Leach (Labour politician)
William Leach was a British Labour Party politician.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Bradford Central at the 1922 general election, having unsuccessfully contested the seat in 1918...
was elected to Parliament in the 1935 general election.
Castle's mother, Annie Betts, ran the family home, also partaking in the operation of a soup-kitchen for the town's miners. After Barbara had left home Annie stood for elections, and served as a Labour councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
, a role which she kept quite secret from even her close family.
Early
Castle attended Love Lane Elementary School, later going to Pontefract and District Girls High School. After moving to Bradford (Yorkshire) at the age of twelve she then attended Bradford Girls Grammar School. She became involved in dramatics at the school, and it was there that she first developed oratory skills. She excelled academically, becoming an A grade student and winning numerous awards for performance from the school. She organised mock elections at the school, in which she stood as the Labour candidate. There were some elements of the school which she did not like, notably her perception that many of the girls were from rich families. Despite this, in her last years at the school she was appointed Head Girl.University
Her further education continued at St. Hugh's College, Oxford from which she graduated as BABachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
with a third-class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Castle began serious political activity at Oxford, serving as the Treasurer of the Oxford University Labour Club
Oxford University Labour Club
Oxford University Labour Club was founded in 1919 to provide a voice for Labour Party values and for socialism and social democracy at Oxford University, England...
, the highest position a woman could hold in the club at the time. Finding her time at university difficult in many respects, she struggled to accept the atmosphere of an institution which had only recently begun to challenge sexist attitudes. She was scornful of the elitist nature of some elements of the institution, branding the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
"that cadet class of the establishment".
She was elected to St. Pancras Borough Council
Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras
The Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn to form the London Borough of Camden...
in 1937, and in 1943 she spoke at the annual Labour Party Conference for the first time. She was a senior administrative officer at the Ministry of Food and an ARP
Air Raid Precautions
Air Raid Precautions was an organisation in the United Kingdom set up as an aid in the prelude to the Second World War dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. It was created in 1924 as a response to the fears about the growing threat from the development of bomber...
warden during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
.
Member of Parliament
Following her marriage to Ted Castle (1907–1979) in 1944, Castle became a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
on the Daily Mirror, which by this time had become strongly pro-Labour. In the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, which Labour won in a landslide, she became MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Blackburn, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
.
She soon achieved a reputation as a left-winger and a rousing speaker. During the 1950s she was a high-profile Bevanite
Bevanism
Bevanism was the ideological argument for the Bevanites, a movement on the Left wing of the Labour Party in the late 1950s and led by Nye Bevan. They were opposed by the Gaitskellites, who are variously described as Centre-left, Social Democrats, or 'moderates' within the Party.Bevanism was...
and made a name for herself as a vocal advocate of decolonisation and the Anti-Apartheid Movement
Anti-Apartheid Movement
Anti-Apartheid Movement , originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British organization that was at the center of the international movement opposing South Africa's system of apartheid and supporting South Africa's Blacks....
.
Government
In the WilsonHarold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
government of 1964–1970, she held a succession of ministerial posts. She entered the Cabinet as the first Minister for Overseas Development
Secretary of State for International Development
In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for the Department for International Development and for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world...
, in so doing becoming only the fourth woman in British history ever to hold position in a Cabinet, after Margaret Bondfield
Margaret Bondfield
Margaret Grace Bondfield was an English Labour politician and feminist, the first woman Cabinet minister in the United Kingdom and one of the first three female Labour MPs...
, Ellen Wilkinson
Ellen Wilkinson
Ellen Cicely Wilkinson was the Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough and later for Jarrow on Tyneside. She was one of the first women in Britain to be elected as a Member of Parliament .- History :...
and Florence Horsbrugh
Florence Horsbrugh, Baroness Horsbrugh
Florence Gertrude Horsbrugh, Baroness Horsbrugh, GBE, PC was a Scottish Unionist Party and Conservative Party politician....
.
As Minister of Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
(23 December 1965–6 April 1968), she introduced the breathalyser to combat the then recently acknowledged crisis of drink-driving, and also made permanent the 70mph speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
. She presided over the closure of approximately 2050 miles of railways as she enacted her part of the Beeching cuts
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
—a betrayal of pre-election commitments by the Labour party to halt the proposals. Nevertheless, she refused closure of several lines, one example being the Looe Valley Line
Looe Valley Line
The Looe Valley Line is an community railway from Liskeard to Looe in Cornwall, United Kingdom, that follows the valley of the East Looe River for much of its course...
in Cornwall, and introduced the first Government subsidies for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in the Transport Act 1968. One of her most memorable achievements as Transport minister was to pass legislation decreeing that all (new) cars had to be fitted with seat-belt
Seat belt
A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
s. Despite being appointed to the Ministry of Transport, a role which she was originally unenthusiastic about, Castle could not actually drive herself, and was chauffeured to functions, the Labour politician Hazel Blears
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
driving her at one time as a young Labour party activist in the 1980s. Despite her lack of a driving licence, she attracted controversy when she told local government leaders to give added emphasis to motor vehicle access in urban areas, as "most pedestrians are walking to or from their cars."
As Secretary of State for Employment
Secretary of State for Employment
The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...
, she was also appointed First Secretary of State
First Secretary of State
First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the Government of the United Kingdom, principally regarded as purely honorific. The title, which implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State, has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary...
by Wilson, bringing her firmly into the heart of government. She was never far from controversy which reached a fever pitch when the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s rebelled against her proposals to reduce their powers in her 1969 white paper
White paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
, 'In Place of Strife
In Place of Strife
In Place of Strife was a UK Government white paper written in 1969. It was a proposed act to alter the functionality of trade unions in the United Kingdom, but was never passed into law....
'. This also involved a major cabinet split, with threatened resignations, hot tempers and her future nemesis James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
breaking ranks to publicly try to undermine the bill. The whole episode alienated her from many of her friends on the left, with the Tribune
Tribune (magazine)
Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...
newspaper railing very hard against the bill, which they held to be attacking the workers without attacking the bosses. The split is often said to be partly responsible for Labour's defeat at the 1970 general election. The eventual deal with the unions dropped most of the contentious clauses, leaving not much to show. Despite failing to be elected to the shadow cabinet, Castle remained as the Labour shadow spokesperson on Employment in the early days of the incoming Conservative government in 1970, which introduced many of her policy suggestions as part of their Industrial Relations Act. When she was attacking the Conservative bill, the government simply pointed to her own white paper, leading to Wilson reshuffling her first to the health portfolio and then out of the shadow cabinet.
She also helped make history when she intervened in the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968, in which the women of the Dagenham Ford Plant demanded to be paid the same as their male counterparts. She helped resolve the strike, which resulted in a pay rise for Ford's female workers bringing them to 92% of what the men received. Most significantly, as a consequence of this strike, Castle put through the Equal Pay Act 1970
Equal Pay Act 1970
The Equal Pay Act 1970 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which prohibits any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. It was passed by Parliament in the aftermath of the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike and came into force on 29...
. A 2010 British film, Made in Dagenham
Made in Dagenham
Made in Dagenham is a 2010 British film directed by Nigel Cole. The film stars Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike and Jaime Winstone. It dramatises the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women...
, was based on the Ford strike; Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
portrayed Castle in the film.
In 1974, after Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
's defeat of Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, Castle became Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health.The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848 a General Board of Health was created with the First Commissioner of Woods and...
and Social Services
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a post in the British Cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the Employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.The Ministry...
. In the 1975 referendum debate
United Kingdom referendum, 1975
The United Kingdom referendum of 1975 was a post-legislative referendum held on 5 June 1975 in the United Kingdom to gauge support for the country's continued membership of the European Economic Community , often known as the Common Market at the time, which it had entered in 1973 under the...
she took a Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
stance. During a debate with Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe
Jeremy Thorpe
John Jeremy Thorpe is a British former politician who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976 and was the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979. His political career was damaged when an acquaintance, Norman Scott, claimed to have had a love affair with Thorpe at a time...
he asked her whether, if the vote would be yes, she would stay on as a minister. To this she replied "If the vote is yes my country will need me more than ever." Despite her views she later became a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(1979–1989).
Castle remained in cabinet until Wilson's resignation in April 1976, despite his own concerns about her ability. The head of the Downing Street policy unit, Bernard Donoghue, records in his diary that he warned Wilson that Castle's dogged pursuit of personal policy stances on public health would "wreck the NHS". Wilson agreed, but admitted he would leave it to his successor to resolve. Castle lost her place as a cabinet minister when her bitter political enemy James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
took over from Wilson as prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
in 1976 and dismissed her almost immediately upon taking office. In an interview many years later, discussing her removal from office by James Callaghan, she claimed that the Prime Minister had told her he wanted "somebody younger" in the Cabinet, to which she famously remarked that perhaps the most restrained thing she had ever achieved in her life was not to reply with "Then why not start with yourself, Jim?"
European Parliament
Despite her EuroscepticEuroSceptic
EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
stance, less than a month after leaving Westminster at the 1979 general election she stood for and was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, writing in the Tribune
Tribune (magazine)
Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...
that "politics is not just about policies: it is about fighting for them in every available forum and at every opportunity."
She represented Greater Manchester North
Greater Manchester North (European Parliament constituency)
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
from 1979–1984, and was then elected for another five years to represent Greater Manchester West
Greater Manchester West (European Parliament constituency)
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
from 1984–1989. She was, at that time, the only British MEP to have held a cabinet position.
In the European Parliament Castle led Labour's delegation, serving as vice-chair of the Socialist Group and as a member of the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is a committee of the European Parliament.-Responsibilities of the Committee:AGRI is the European Parliament committee responsible for:...
and also the Delegation for relations with Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
Honours and awards
Barbara Castle was the recipient of "The Order of the Companions of OR TamboOliver Tambo
Oliver Reginald Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and a central figure in the African National Congress .-Biography:Oliver Tambo was born in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now Eastern Cape...
in Silver", a South African award to foreign nationals for friendship with that country. In a statement the South African government recognised Castle's "outstanding contribution to the struggle against apartheid and the establishment of a non-sexist, non-racial and democratic South Africa". This can be seen throughout Castle's career with her active support for the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) in Britain from the very start of its existence and her continued interest and devotion to colonial issues within Parliament.
In June 2003 Castle was posthumously awarded an Honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
as Doctor of the University.
Castle also received a Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
in 1990, for services to European democracy.
In 2008, Barbara Castle was named by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
as one of four of 'Labour's greatest heroes'.
In September 2008 Northern Rail, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and PTEG (Passenger transport executive
Passenger Transport Executive
In the United Kingdom, passenger transport executives are local government bodies which are responsible for public transport within large urban areas...
Group) named a train after her. The plaque was unveiled by Barbara's niece, Sonya Hinton, and Ruth Kelly
Ruth Kelly
Ruth Maria Kelly is a British Labour Party politician of Irish descent who was the Member of Parliament for Bolton West from 1997 until she stood down in 2010...
MP (then Secretary of State for Transport). A commemorative brochure of the event was produced by PTEG.
Works
The Castle Diaries were published after the 1979 General ElectionUnited Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, chronicling her time in office from 1964–1976 and providing an insight into the workings of Cabinet Government. A review in the London Review of Books
London Review of Books
The London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
at the time of their publication claimed, "Barbara Castle's diary shows more about the nature of Cabinet Government than any previous publication...it is, I think, better than Crossman", a reference to the published diaries of former Cabinet Minister Richard Crossman
Richard Crossman
Richard Howard Stafford Crossman OBE was a British author and Labour Party politician who was a Cabinet Minister under Harold Wilson, and was the editor of the New Statesman. A prominent socialist intellectual, he became one of the Labour Party's leading Zionists and anti-communists...
. However, when Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
reviewed her diaries he remarked that the "overpowering impression left on the reader's mind by her diary is that of triviality: the largest decisions and the profoundest issues are effortlessly trivialised."
Life peer
In 1974, Ted Castle was made a life peer. This meant that Barbara was now formally Lady Castle, but she refused to use this courtesy title. Ted Castle died in 1979. In 1990, she was made a life peerLife peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in her own right, as Baroness Castle of Blackburn. She remained active in politics right up until her death, attacking the then Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, for his refusal to link pensions to earnings at the Labour party conference in 2001.
Death
Castle died in Chiltern, BuckinghamshireChiltern (district)
Chiltern is one of four local government districts of Buckinghamshire in south central England. It is named after the Chiltern Hills on which the region sits.The main towns in the district are Amersham and Chesham...
, of pneumonia and chronic lung disease.
Testimonials
Castle's autobiography, Fighting All The Way (ISBN 0-330-32886-7), was published in 1993.A biography by Lisa Martineau, Barbara Castle: Politics and Power (EAN 0233994807), was published in 2000 and Red Queen: The Authorised Biography of Barbara Castle by Anne Perkins (ISBN 0-333-90511-3) in 2003.
She was commemorated on a postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
issued as part of the Royal Mail's "Women of Distinction" series issued on 14 October 2008 for piloting the Equal Pay Act through parliament. She appears on the 81p denomination.
Castle was portrayed by British actress Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
in the 2010 film Made in Dagenham
Made in Dagenham
Made in Dagenham is a 2010 British film directed by Nigel Cole. The film stars Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike and Jaime Winstone. It dramatises the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 that aimed for equal pay for women...
, dealing with the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham assembly plant
Ford Dagenham assembly plant
Ford Dagenham is a major automotive factory located in Dagenham, United Kingdom operated by the Ford of Europe subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company...
and Castle's subsequent involvement in protesting against sexual discrimination. After the film's release, Richardson was nominated as Best Supporting Actress at the BAFTA Film Awards.
See also
- List of Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom 1979–1984
- List of Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom 1984–1989
External links
- Barbara Castle - Blackburn Labour Party
- Photos of Barbara Castle - Blackburn Labour Party
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