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Stan Orme

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The Lord Orme
Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party
In office
13 July 1987 – 18 July 1992
Preceded byJack Dormand
Succeeded byDoug Hoyle
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy
In office
2 October 1983 – 13 July 1987
LeaderNeil Kinnock
Preceded byJohn Smith
Succeeded byJohn Prescott
Shadow Secretary of State for Industry
In office
4 November 1980 – 2 October 1983
LeaderMichael Foot
Preceded byJohn Silkin
Succeeded byPeter Shore
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services
In office
14 June 1979 – 4 November 1980
LeaderJames Callaghan
Preceded byDavid Ennals
Succeeded byGwyneth Dunwoody
Minister of State for Social Security
In office
5 April 1976 – 4 May 1979
Prime MinisterJames Callaghan
Preceded byBrian O'Malley
Succeeded byReg Prentice
Member of Parliament
forSalford East
In office
9 June 1983 – 8 April 1997
Preceded byFrank Allaun
Succeeded byConstituency Abolished
Member of Parliament
forSalford West
In office
15 October 1964 – 13 May 1983
Preceded byCharles Royle
Succeeded byConstituency Abolished
Personal details
Born(1923-04-05)5 April 1923
Sale,Cheshire,England
Died27 April 2005(2005-04-27)(aged 82)
Sale,Greater Manchester,England
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Irene Harris
(m.1951)

Stanley Orme, Baron Orme,PC(5 April 1923 – 27 April 2005) was a British left-wing[1]Labour Partypolitician.He was aMember of Parliament(MP) from 1964 to 1997, and served as a cabinet minister in the 1970s.

Early life[edit]

Stan Orme was born inSale,Cheshire.He was educated at a technical school, which he left in 1938 to become an instrument maker's apprentice. He joined theRAFin 1942, becoming a bomber-navigator, serving inCanadaandEgypt.He was demobilised in 1947 as awarrant officer.

Political career[edit]

Orme joined the Labour Party in 1944 and he became aSale Borough Councillorin 1958. Firmly aligned with the left faction of Labour, led intellectually and organisationally byAneurin Bevan,at this time, he embraced many left-wing causes, including the Movement for Colonial Freedom and theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

He first stood forParliamentinStockport Southat the1959 general election,when he lost to the incumbentMember of Parliament(MP),ConservativecandidateHarold M. Steward.He was elected as MP forSalford Westat the1964 general election.

When Labour returned to office at theFebruary 1974 general election,Orme was installed at Stormont asMinister of StateforNorthern Ireland.He made an impression in this role, before moving to theDepartment of Health and Social Securityin March 1976. The Prime MinisterJames Callaghanpromoted him to theCabinetin September 1976 to sit alongside his departmental bossDavid Ennals.He remained in this role until 1979.

Orme joined theShadow cabinetin 1979 as chief health and social security spokesman, before later moving on to hold the Industry and Energy portfolios until 1987. Following constituency boundary changes for the1983 general election,he was elected for the redrawn seat ofSalford East.

He served as the Chairman of theParliamentary Labour Partyfrom 1987 to 1992. He retired from theHouse of Commonsat the1997 general election,and he was created alife peerasBaron Orme,ofSalfordin the County ofGreater Manchesteron 21 October 1997.[2]

Orme was a republican.[3]He made several unsuccessful attempts to be elected to Labour'sNational Executive Committee,without breaking through.

Lord Orme died 22 days after his birthday, on 27 April 2005. His funeral at Dunham Crematorium was attended by many family, friends and political colleagues. A memorial service was held in theHouse of Lords,with speeches from former Labour leadersNeil KinnockandMichael Foot.A very rare exception was made by the Lord Chancellor such that any Divisions were suspended during this evening service.

Private life[edit]

In 1951 he married Irene Mary Harris (died 2022). They had no children.

Controversy[edit]

In December 2019, aDaily Telegraphinvestigation reported that Orme had been involved in handing confidential information toCzech communistspies.[4]

References[edit]

  • Pearce, Edward (3 May 2005)."Lord Orme of Salford".The Guardian.London.Retrieved24 May2010.
  • Times Guide to the House of Commons,Times Newspapers Limited, 1992
  • Obituary,The Timesobituaries.
  • Catalogue of the Orme papersat theArchives Divisionof theLondon School of Economics.

External links[edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforSalford West
19641983
Constituency abolished
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforSalford East
19831997
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of State for Social Security
1976–1979
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of theParliamentary Labour Party
1987–1992
Succeeded by