Roy Mason
Joseph Mallalieu | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Barnsley Central Barnsley (1953–1983) | |
| In office 31 March 1953 – 18 May 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Sidney Schofield |
| Succeeded by | Eric Illsley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 April 1924 Royston, England |
| Died | 19 April 2015 (aged 91) Barnsley, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley,
Early life
Mason was born in Royston, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 18 April 1924,[1] and grew up in Carlton, Barnsley, also in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Mason became a miner at the age of 14. He became a branch official of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in his early twenties. Aged 26, he studied at the London School of Economics as a mature student on a Trades Union Congress (TUC) scholarship.[2] He remained in the coal industry until he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Barnsley constituency at a by-election in 1953.[3]
Posts
Mason was Labour Party spokesman on
Northern Ireland
A high-profile
While
Mason's policies in Northern Ireland earned the ire of Irish nationalist MPs.
After Labour's election defeat in 1979, Mason came under increasing pressure from some on the left in his constituency party and from Arthur Scargill but did not countenance joining the Social Democratic Party. Mason received full police protection over 30 years after leaving office. In 1982, Energy Secretary Nigel Lawson suggested to Margaret Thatcher that she should make Mason the next Coal Board chairman, but she refused by saying that Mason was "Not one of us". Instead, Ian MacGregor was appointed.[8]
Later life
After his retirement from the
Mason died at Highgrove Nursing Home, Stanley Road, Barnsley one day after his 91st birthday, on 19 April 2015. He had suffered from cerebrovascular disease. He was survived by his wife and his two daughters.[10][11][3]
References
- ^ "Birthdays today". The Telegraph. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
Lord Mason of Barnsley, former Labour Government Minister, 88
- ^ Yorkshire Post Obituary – 'Roy Mason a Man Forever Linked with Barnsley' Retrieved 20 April 2015
- ^ a b "Former Labour MP Lord Mason of Barnsley dies". BBC News. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived 28 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Johnston, Wesley. "Deaths in each year of the 'Troubles' 1969 – 1998". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
- ^ Holland, Jack; McDonald, Henry (1994). INLA Deadly Divisions.
- ^ a b c "Lord Fitt". Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 27 August 2005. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
His influence on the British government sharply diminished in 1976 with the advent that year of Mason as Secretary of State. "He's an anti-Irish wee git", Fitt told journalists; but perhaps Mason's worst sin was that he ignored the MP for West Belfast. Fitt took his revenge in the crucial vote on the Labour government's bill for Scottish devolution. He could not bring himself, he explained, to vote for a government with Mason as Ulster Secretary, against a background of alleged police brutality in the province. The government, defeated by one vote, resigned; the radical Gerry Fitt had helped to usher in the rule of Mrs Thatcher.
- ^ Nigel Lawson -The View from No.11: Memoirs of a Tory Radical
- ^ "No. 51099". The London Gazette. 23 October 1987. p. 13091.
- ^ "Death of Lord Mason of Barnsley at 91". Yorkshire Post. 20 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ List of Deceased members of the House of Lords
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Roy Mason
- Portraits of Roy Mason at the National Portrait Gallery, London
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