Freda Corbet

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Freda Corbet
Freda Corbet
Member of Parliament for Camberwell North West
In office
5 July 1945 – 3 February 1950
Preceded byOscar Guest
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Peckham
In office
23 February 1950 – 8 February 1974
Preceded byLewis Silkin
Succeeded byHarry Lamborn
Personal details
Born
Freda Künzlen

(1900-11-15)15 November 1900
University College, London

Freda Corbet (née Künzlen, later Mansell; 15 November 1900 – 1 November 1993) was a British

comprehensive schools
to the city.

Corbet was elected Member of Parliament for

chief whip of the London County Council in 1947, requiring councillors to check with her before even asking questions at public meetings. Her short stature led to her being known as the 'tiny tyrant'. In 1960, she became chairman of the general services committee, and oversaw the renovation of London's South Bank. Her influential role in the establishment of Royal National Theatre
meant that she was given a place on their board for a few years.

She abstained against a three-line whip in 1972, allowing UK to join the

Freedom of the Borough
of Southwark in 1974.

Early life

Freda Künzlen was born on 15 November 1900, in

University College, London.[2]

Freda Mansell gained a first-class degree in history from University College, and became a teacher in Wales. She then moved to Penzance, Cornwall, where she became mistress at Penzance Church High School for Girls. She married William Corbet, another member of the Independent Labour Party, on 5 August 1925 in Streatham, moving back to London, where her husband ran a sweet shop and newsagent. Whilst working with her husband, she started studying law, and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1932. However, as a woman, she struggled to find employment in the legal field.[2]

Role as politician

In 1927, Herbert Morrison urged her to stand as a candidate for the local council elections, having seen that she was a popular speaker at meetings and hoping to recruit more female candidates. She stood three times before being elected to the council for Camberwell North West in 1934, while her husband was elected to Wandsworth council. From 1949, she represented Peckham on the council, and she remained active until the council was abolished, in 1965. Corbet served on the London County Council's education committee for 16 years, helping to introduce comprehensive schools to the city. She also worked to ensure that council tower blocks included lifts.[2]

Corbet stood for Member of Parliament for

London blitz in Camberwell, leading to her election as Member of Parliament for Camberwell North West in 1945 and then for Peckham after 1950. As a Member of Parliament she did not attend many debates, instead focussing on her local duties, including fortnightly surgeries for her constituents.[2]

Corbet became

chief whip for the Labour London County Council in 1947 and was very strict in the role. She was known as the 'tiny tyrant'[2] within the party, due to her height at 4 feet 11 inches (150 cm) and was required to give consent before councillors could publicly dissent or ask questions at public meetings. The role did make her popular,[clarification needed] Clement Attlee compared the approach to a totalitarian state. Corbet represented Britain at the United Nations conference in 1948, helping to produce the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[2]

A replacement chief whip was voted in 1960, and Corbet was appointed chairman of the council's general services committee. There she oversaw the expansion of the South Bank, helping to establish Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room as well as the Hayward Gallery and the Royal National Theatre. The theatre allowed the city a place on their board, which was held by Corbet between 1962 and 1965. In 1965, when the London County Council was disbanded, replaced with the Greater London Council, Corbet left local government.[2]

Later life

Corbet's husband died in 1957, and Corbet married

Bromley, Kent on 1 November 1993.[2]

References

  1. ^ Hillman, Ellis (13 November 1993). "Obituary: Freda Corbet". The Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  2. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/51617. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)

External links
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Camberwell North West
1945 – 1950 		Constituency abolished
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Peckham
1950 – February 1974 		Succeeded by
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