Robert Sheldon, Baron Sheldon

Robert Edward Sheldon, Baron Sheldon

Sheldon was educated at Upper Latimer School, trained in engineering at Burnley and Stockport technical colleges, and awarded an external degree from the University of London.^[3] He joined the Labour Party in 1945 and later served as a Manchester City Councillor. Sheldon worked as director of his family textile firm.

Political career

Sheldon first stood for Parliament in

He was one of the four directors of the Left Wing Coffee House from 1959-1963 in Manchester as well as Joel Barnett, and Edmund Dell, in addition to the chief funder, Harold Lever.^{[citation needed]}

Sheldon caused difficulty for the first Wilson government in his support for devaluation of the pound, which the Prime Minister and Chancellor strongly opposed. When Chancellor James Callaghan refused to answer his question on the issue in Parliament, there was a run on the pound.^[5]

He was also staunchly pro-

He served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1981 until 1983, when he became Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).^[7] In his final term in the House of Commons, Sheldon stepped down from the PAC to chair both the Liaison Committee and Standards and Privileges Committee.

He stood down from the Commons at the

Sheldon married his first cousin Eileen Shamash in 1945, with whom he had a son and daughter.[10] Eileen died in 1969 and he married again to Mary Shield in 1971. His daughter, Gillian Sargeant, later became a Labour Councillor on Barnet London Borough Council.

In 2000, he collapsed on the street of a heart attack and was resuscitated by a passer-by, who happened to be former Olympic swimmer Duncan Goodhew.^[11] He eventually died of a heart attack on 2 February 2020.

References