Alan Beith
Alan James Beith, Baron Beith,PC(born 20 April 1943) is a BritishLiberal Democratpolitician who representedBerwick-upon-Tweedas itsMember of Parliament(MP) from 1973 to 2015.[1][2]
From 1992 to 2003 he wasDeputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.By 2015 he was the longest-serving member of his party'sHouse of Commonsdelegation, and was the last Liberal Democrat MP to have experience ofParliamentin the 1970s.
Beith was elevated as alife peerin the2015 Dissolution HonoursList[3]and took his title and a seat on theHouse of LordsOpposition benches on 23 November 2015.[4]
Early life
[edit]The son of John Beith, ofScottish extraction,he was born in 1943 atPoyntoninCheshire.He was educated atThe King's School, Macclesfieldbefore going toBalliol College, Oxford,where he readPhilosophy, Politics and Economicsgraduating in 1964. He then pursued postgraduate studies atNuffield College,receiving aBachelor of Letters (BLitt) degree.[5]
In 1966, Beith began his career as a politicslecturerat theUniversity of Newcastle upon Tyne.In 1969 he was elected as aCouncilloronHexham RuralDistrict Counciland, in 1970, he was also elected toCorbridgeparish council.He contested Berwick-upon-Tweed as theLiberalcandidate at the1970 general electionbut was heavily defeated by the sittingConservativeMPAntony Lambton.
Parliamentary career
[edit]Beith became a member ofTynedaleDistrict Councilin 1973. Later that year, Antony Lambton resigned as an MP following aFleet Street exposé.At theensuing by-electionon 8 November 1973, Beith was narrowly elected by 57 votes, becoming Berwick's first Liberal MP since 1945.
Just three months after his by-election success, Beith was out canvassing hisconstituentsagain at theFebruary 1974 general election,being returned to Parliament with an increased majority of 443. Later that same year and still less than a year after entering the House of Commons, Beith had to contest the constituency for a third time in less than a year at theOctober 1974 general election,retaining his seat with a slender majority of 73 votes.[6]He held his seat with comfortable majorities in the eight further elections he stood in.
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party
[edit]This section of abiography of a living persondoes notincludeanyreferences or sources.(February 2016) |
Beith was appointed to theBBCAdvisory Council in 1974, and served as a member until 1984. On the election ofDavid SteelasLiberal Leaderin 1976, Beith became the Party'sChief Whipin theCommons.[7]After the1983 general election,he was appointed Liberal Spokesman forConstitutional Affairs.He was elected as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in 1985, in both cases continuing his duties as a Commons Chief Whip.
After the1987 general election,Beith concentrated his efforts as Liberal Spokesman forTreasury Affairsand stood down from being Liberal Chief Whip after eleven years in post. In 1988, the Liberal andSocial Democraticparties merged, initially as the Social and Liberal Democrats.
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats
[edit]This section of abiography of a living persondoes notincludeanyreferences or sources.(February 2016) |
Beith stood againstPaddy Ashdownin the firstleadership election in 1988,an election which Ashdown won by a large margin. Beith stayed on asDeputy Leader of the Liberal Democratsfollowing the1992 general electionunder Ashdown until 2003, and was sworn of thePrivy Councilin 1992. In 1994, he became theLiberal Democrat Home Affairs spokespersonand continued in post underCharles Kennedy'sleadership.After the2001 general electionhe briefly became Lib Dem spokesperson for theLord Chancellor's Department,but left the Lib Demfrontbenchin 2002, though remaining its Deputy Leader until the following year.
After standing down from theLib Dem frontbenchhe chaired the CommonsConstitutional Affairs,andJustice Committees.Following SirMenzies Campbell's resignation asLeader of the Liberal Democratson 15 October 2007, Beith was encouraged to stand as a prospective compromise candidate for the Lib Dem leadership. However, via his personal website, he announced his decision not to stand for election as party leader.
Later developments
[edit]On 19 May 2009, Beith was the first MP to declare his candidacy to succeedSpeakerMichael Martin,who stood down from the position on 21 June 2009. Beith pledged he was "willing to take on the task of leading reform" were heelectedas Commons Speaker.[8]Conservative MPJohn Bercowwon, becoming the 157th Speaker of the House Commons of the United Kingdom.[9]
Beith wasknightedin the2008 Birthday Honours.[10]
On 22 May 2009, Beith was reported byThe Daily Telegraphto have claimed £117,000 insecond homeallowances while his wife,Baroness Maddock,claimed £60,000 Lords expenses for sharing the same address.[11]
Replying in writing on both their behalf toThe Telegraphjournalist'sexposé:"It would be quite wrong for the taxpayer to pay twice for the same costs, so we have shared the costs, either by sharing the cost of rent, or by my wife using her allowance towards costs incurred (she normally claims only half the Lords' overnight allowance)", he argued in defence.[12]
Coalition Government
[edit]At theMay 2010 general electionhe was returned as MP for Berwick; however, his majority was reduced by a substantial swing to the Conservatives.
Beith served as Chairman of the CommonsJustice[13]and of theLiaisonSelect Committees until retiring in 2015.
He was one of only four Liberal Democrat MPs to vote against the third reading of theMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.[14]He was the only Liberal Democrat MP to oppose recognisingPalestineas a state in the Commons vote on 13 October 2014.[15][16]
Beith campaigned throughout his years in the House of Commons for theA1 roadto be made adual carriagewayinNorthumberland.[17]
Elevation to the House of Lords
[edit]On 7 August 2013, Beith announced that he would retire as an MP at thenext election,having at that point representedBerwick-upon-Tweedfor 42 years.[18]He was announced as alife peerin the2015 Dissolution Honoursand was createdBaron Beith,of Berwick-upon-Tweed in the County of Northumberlandon the afternoon of 19 October.[19]
Politics
[edit]Beith is more left-leaning and liberal in social issues, and more right-leaning and conservative economically.
Taxes
[edit]Beith has only voted for reducingVATonce, on 13 December 2008; from then on he voted for raising it.[20]Beith supports higher taxes foralcohol.[21]He always voted against amansion tax.[22]He also has voted for reducingcapital gains tax[23]andcorporation tax.He has voted for raisingthe threshold for paying income tax.
Social
[edit]He voted against theMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013in its third reading.[24]Beith also voted for smoking bans[25]and against a hunting ban.[26]He supports lowering the voting age to 16.[27]TheLiberal Democratsgenerally support assisted dying; he has voted against it.[28]
Personal life
[edit]Beith was married in 1965 to Barbara Ward, and they had a son and a daughter. His first wife died in 1998, and he then married in 2001Diana Maddock(néeDerbyshire), formerly MP forChristchurch(1993–97).[29]
Until her death on 26 June 2020, Lord Beith and Baroness Maddock divided their time between homes atBerwick-upon-Tweed,Northumberland,andLondon SW1;they were one of the few married couples both titled intheir own right.[30]Lord Beith serves asPresidentof theLiberal Democrat Christian Forumand of theHistoric Chapels Trust,a charity he helped to found and of which he was Chair of Trustees between 2001 and 2014. He is also President of Northumberland Hospital Radio and of theNational Liberal Club.[31]
He reportedly speaks French, Norwegian, Swedish and Welsh, and is a keen supporter ofheritage matters.[32]
Honours
[edit]- Membership ofHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council(13 June 1992)[33]
- Life peer(2015)[7]
- Knight Bachelor(2008)[34]
References
[edit]- ^"Mr Alan Beith".Hansard.Retrieved13 May2021.
- ^"Parliamentary career for Lord Beith – MPs and Lords".UK Parliament.Retrieved13 May2021.
- ^"Dissolution Peerages 2015".Gov.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2019.Retrieved27 August2015.
- ^"House of Lords Official Report 23 November 2015"(PDF).parliament.uk.Archived(PDF)from the original on 24 November 2015.Retrieved24 November2015.
- ^"Debrett's People of Today".Archived fromthe originalon 11 March 2016.
- ^"Lord Beith".parliament.uk. 19 October 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 29 July 2016.Retrieved25 July2016.
- ^ab"Alan Beith".12 October 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 23 June 2018.Retrieved23 June2018.
- ^"First MP discusses run for Speaker".BBC News.19 May 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 2 March 2016.Retrieved20 May2009.
- ^"The Speaker of the House of Commons".parliament.uk. 8 February 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 10 August 2015.Retrieved25 July2016.
- ^"Salon Archive Issue: 191".sal.org.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 15 February 2016.Retrieved25 July2016.
- ^Winnett, Robert; Watt, Holly; Prince, Rosa (22 May 2009)."MPs' expenses: cover-up of Ian Gibson and his daughter's cut-price flat deal".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 25 May 2009.Retrieved22 May2009.
- ^Beith, Alan (22 May 2009)."Beith publishes full Telegraph questions and answers".Archived fromthe originalon 25 May 2009.Retrieved16 June2009.
- ^"Justice Committee Membership".parliament.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2011.Retrieved24 July2011.
- ^MPs who voted against the Third Reading of the Equal Marriage BillArchived12 June 2013 at theWayback Machine.Pink News.Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^"House of Commons Hansard Debates for 13 Oct 2014 (pt 0004)".parliament.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 24 October 2017.Retrieved29 August2017.
- ^"MPs debate Palestine and Israel".UK Parliament.Archivedfrom the original on 31 December 2014.Retrieved27 December2014.
- ^Retiring MP Sir Alan BeithArchived21 October 2014 at theWayback Machine.Chronicle.Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^Alan Beith to step down in 2015Archived10 September 2013 at theWayback Machine.Liberal Democrat Voice(7 August 2013); retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^"No. 61389".The London Gazette.23 October 2015. p. 19950.
- ^"Lord Beith, former MP".Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
- ^"Lord Beith, former MP".Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
- ^"Lord Beith, former MP".Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
- ^"Lord Beith, former MP".Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
- ^"The Public Whip — Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill — Third Reading – 21 May 2013 at 18:59".Archivedfrom the original on 15 December 2018.Retrieved12 December2018.
- ^"Lord Beith, former MP".Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
- ^"Lord Beith, former MP".Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
- ^"Lord Beith, former MP".Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
- ^"Lord Beith, former MP".Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
- ^"About Alan Beith".berwicklibdems.org.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 22 February 2015.Retrieved19 March2015.
- ^Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003).Burke's Peerage & Baronetage(107th ed.). London: Burke's Peerage & Gentry Ltd. p. 2559 (MADDOCK, LP).ISBN0-9711966-2-1.
- ^"National Liberal Club".nlc.org.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 5 September 2015.Retrieved25 July2016.
- ^ProfileArchived4 May 2015 at theWayback Machine,georgiangroup.org.uk; accessed 11 February 2016.
- ^"No. 52952".The London Gazette(Supplement). 12 June 1992. p. 1.
- ^"No. 59160".The London Gazette.18 August 2009. p. 1.
- ^"Honorary Degree Congregation".Newcastle University.1998.Retrieved2 February2024.
- ^"Honorary degree for Berwick MP Sir Alan Beith".BBC News England.16 July 2010.Retrieved2 February2024.
- ^"Honorary Graduates".Northumbria University.2 February 2024.Retrieved2 February2024.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Profileat the Liberal Democrats
- ProfileatParliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in ParliamentatHansard
- Contributions in ParliamentatHansard 1803–2005
- Voting recordatPublic Whip
- Record in ParliamentatTheyWorkForYou
- ProfileatNew Statesman"Your Democracy"
- www.burkespeerage.com: MADDOCK, LP
- AppearancesonC-SPAN
- 1943 births
- Living people
- English people of Scottish descent
- People from Berwick-upon-Tweed
- People from Poynton
- People educated at The King's School, Macclesfield
- Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
- Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford
- Academics of Newcastle University
- Politics of Northumberland
- Councillors in Northumberland
- Liberal Democrats (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers
- Life peers created by Elizabeth II
- Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Knights Bachelor
- Spouses of life peers
- UK MPs 1970–1974
- UK MPs 1974
- UK MPs 1974–1979
- UK MPs 1979–1983
- UK MPs 1983–1987
- UK MPs 1987–1992
- UK MPs 1992–1997
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–2005
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- UK MPs 2010–2015