Roy Mason
Encyclopedia
Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, PC
(born 18 April 1924) is a British Labour
politician
and former Cabinet minister.
He was born in Royston
, and grew up in Carlton, Barnsley
in South Yorkshire
. The small, pipe-smoking, former coal miner first went down the mines at the age of fourteen and remained in the coal industry until he was elected as Member of Parliament
(MP) for the Barnsley constituency
at a by-election in 1953
.
and Post Office
, 1960-1964. Minister of State
at the Board of Trade
, 1964-1967. Minister of Defence (Equipment), 1967-1968. Minister of Power, 1968-1969. President of the Board of Trade, 1969-1970. Secretary of State for Defence
, 1974-1976. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
, 1976–1979
, his appointment to Northern Ireland
was unexpected and seemed to indicate a tougher response from the British Government than that pursued by his predecessor, Merlyn Rees. In late 1976, he told the Labour party conference that "Ulster
had had enough of initiatives, White Papers and legislation for the time being, and now needed to be governed firmly and fairly".
He rejected both military and political solutions in favour of "justice for all; with equality before the law; and, crucially, with republican terrorism treated as a security problem, and nothing else".http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/04/18/do1805.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/04/18/ixop.html
While Secretary of State for Defence
he had been responsible for the introduction of SAS
units into the 'bandit country' of South Armagh
. At Stormont
Mason was responsible for the tougher role taken by the security forces and authorised an increase in British Army
covert tactics with the SAS allowed to operate throughout Northern Ireland
.
Mason's time in Northern Ireland was characterised by a reduction in violence; "in 1976 there were 297 deaths in Northern Ireland; in the next three years the figures were 112, 81, 113 and it was an IRA
man who acknowledged that 'we were almost beaten by Mason'".http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/04/18/do1805.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/04/18/ixop.html
In 1977, he stood up to militant loyalists attempt to repeat their successful Ulster Workers Council
strike tactic of 1974. In the same year he twice attempted to get some movement towards a political settlement from the local political parties but both attempts failed.
After Labour's election defeat in 1979 he came under increasing pressure from leftwingers in his constituency party under the influence of Arthur Scargill
but did not countenance joining the Social Democratic Party
. Roy Mason receives full police protection, over 30 years after leaving office. In 1982, the then Energy Secretary
Nigel Lawson
suggested to Margaret Thatcher
that she should make Mason the next Coal Board
chairman, but she refused, saying that Mason was "Not one of us". Instead, Ian MacGregor
was appointed.
at the 1987 general election
, he was created a life peer
on 20 October 1987 as Baron Mason of Barnsley, of Barnsley
in South Yorkshire
.
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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...
(born 18 April 1924) is a British Labour
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...
and former Cabinet minister.
He was born in Royston
Royston, South Yorkshire
Royston is a suburban village within the Metropolitan borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was incorporated in to the Metropolitan borough of Barnsley in 1974 and is now on the border with West Yorkshire...
, and grew up in Carlton, Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
. The small, pipe-smoking, former coal miner first went down the mines at the age of fourteen and remained in the coal industry until he was elected as Member of Parliament
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,...
(MP) for the Barnsley constituency
Barnsley (UK Parliament constituency)
Barnsley was a Parliamentary constituency covering the town of Barnsley in England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.-History:...
at a by-election in 1953
Barnsley by-election, 1953
The Barnsley by-election, 1953 was a by-election held on 31st March 1953 for the British House of Commons constituency of Barnsley in the West Riding of Yorkshire....
.
Posts
He was Labour Party spokesman on Home Affairs, DefenceDefense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
and Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, 1960-1964. Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
at the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
, 1964-1967. Minister of Defence (Equipment), 1967-1968. Minister of Power, 1968-1969. President of the Board of Trade, 1969-1970. Secretary of State for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
, 1974-1976. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
, 1976–1979
Northern Ireland
A high-profile politicianPolitician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, his appointment to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
was unexpected and seemed to indicate a tougher response from the British Government than that pursued by his predecessor, Merlyn Rees. In late 1976, he told the Labour party conference that "Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
had had enough of initiatives, White Papers and legislation for the time being, and now needed to be governed firmly and fairly".
He rejected both military and political solutions in favour of "justice for all; with equality before the law; and, crucially, with republican terrorism treated as a security problem, and nothing else".http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/04/18/do1805.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/04/18/ixop.html
While Secretary of State for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
he had been responsible for the introduction of SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
units into the 'bandit country' of South Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
. At Stormont
Stormont Castle
Stormont Castle is a baronial mansion on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast which is used as the main meeting place of the Northern Ireland Executive....
Mason was responsible for the tougher role taken by the security forces and authorised an increase in British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
covert tactics with the SAS allowed to operate throughout Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Mason's time in Northern Ireland was characterised by a reduction in violence; "in 1976 there were 297 deaths in Northern Ireland; in the next three years the figures were 112, 81, 113 and it was an IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
man who acknowledged that 'we were almost beaten by Mason'".http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/04/18/do1805.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/04/18/ixop.html
In 1977, he stood up to militant loyalists attempt to repeat their successful Ulster Workers Council
Ulster Workers Council
The Ulster Workers Council was a loyalist workers' organisation set up in Northern Ireland in 1974 as a more formalised successor to the Loyalist Association of Workers . It was formed by shipyard union leader Harry Murray and initially failed to gain much attention...
strike tactic of 1974. In the same year he twice attempted to get some movement towards a political settlement from the local political parties but both attempts failed.
After Labour's election defeat in 1979 he came under increasing pressure from leftwingers in his constituency party under the influence of Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill is a British politician who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1982 to 2002, leading the union through the 1984–85 miners' strike, a key event in British labour and political history...
but did not countenance joining the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. Roy Mason receives full police protection, over 30 years after leaving office. In 1982, the then Energy Secretary
Department of Energy (United Kingdom)
The Department of Energy was a department of the United Kingdom Government. The Department was established in January 1974, when the responsibility for energy production was transferred away from the Department of Trade and Industry in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis and with the importance of...
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC , is a British Conservative politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974–92, and served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of Margaret Thatcher from June 1983 to October 1989...
suggested to Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
that she should make Mason the next Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
chairman, but she refused, saying that Mason was "Not one of us". Instead, Ian MacGregor
Ian MacGregor
Sir Ian Kinloch MacGregor, KBE was a Scottish-American metallurgist and industrialist, most famous in the UK for his controversial tenure at British Steel and his conduct during the 1984-1985 miner's strike while managing the National Coal Board.-Early life:Born in Kinlochleven, Scotland, his...
was appointed.
Life Peer
After his retirement from the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
at the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
, he was created a life peer
Life 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...
on 20 October 1987 as Baron Mason of Barnsley, of Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
.
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