The Right Honourable  Barbara Castle  The Baroness Castle of Blackburn, PC
Secretary of State for Social Services
In office 5 March 1974 – 8 April 1976
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Keith Joseph
Succeeded by	David Ennals
First Secretary of State
In office 6 April 1968 – 19 June 1970
Preceded by	Michael Stewart
Succeeded by	William Whitelaw
Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity
In office 6 April 1968 – 19 June 1970
Preceded by	Ray Gunter
Succeeded by	Robert Carr
Minister of Transport
In office 23 December 1965 – 6 April 1968
Preceded by	Thomas Fraser
Succeeded by	Richard Marsh
Secretary of State for International Development
In office 18 October 1964 – 23 December 1965
Preceded by	Office Created
Succeeded by	Anthony Greenwood
Born	06 October 1910(1910-10-06) Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK
Died	03 May 2002 (aged 91) Buckinghamshire, UK
Political party	Labour
Religion	Roman Catholic

Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (October 6, 1910 – May 3, 2002) was a British left-wing politician, born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield, Derbyshire (and brought up in Pontefract and Bradford, Yorkshire), who adopted her family's politics, joining the Labour Party. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as or ) is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and in other Commonwealth Realms, and elsewhere. ... Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (October 6, 1910 – May 3, 2002) was a British left-wing politician, born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield, Derbyshire (and brought up in Pontefract and Bradford, Yorkshire), who adopted her familys politics, joining the Labour Party. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a position in the UK cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century. ... Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt, CH , PC (17 January 1918–10 December 1994) was a British barrister, politician, and Conservative Cabinet Minister under three different Ministries. ... David Hedley Ennals, Baron Ennals, PC (19 August 1922 – 17 June 1995) was a British Labour politician and campaigner for human rights. ... First Secretary of State is a title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific, currently held by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Right Honourable Captain Robert Maitland Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham, PC (November 6, 1906, Bromley - March 13, 1990) was a British Labour politician who served twice as Foreign Secretary in the first cabinet of Harold Wilson. ... The Rt Hon. ... Minister of Labour re-directs here. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Raymond Jones Gunter, (August 30, 1909 – April 12, 1977), British Labour politician, was born in Wales and had a background in the railway industry and the British trade union movement - specifically his union TSSA, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association. ... For other people called Robert Carr please see Robert Carr (disambiguation). ... The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tom Fraser was a Labour MP for the Hamilton constituency (1950-1967) [[1]]. He was Minister of Transport from October 16, 1964 until December 23 1965. ... Richard William Marsh, Baron Marsh (born 14 March 1928) is an English politician and business executive. ... In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for promoting development overseas and for the Department for International Development, particularly in the third world. ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Anthony Greenwood, 1st Baron Greenwood (1911–1982) was a prominent British Labour Party politician in the 1950s and 1960s. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... This article is about the English town. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is one of the home counties in South East England. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... This article is about the English town. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... Pontefract Castle in the early 17th Century Pontefract is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near the A1 (or Great North Road), the M62 motorway, and Castleford. ... For other uses, see Bradford (disambiguation). ... Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ...

Early life

Barbara, the third of three children, was born in Bradford to Frank Betts and Annie Rebecca.^[1] He father was a tax-inspector, member of the Independent Labour Party, contributor and later editor of Bradford Pioneer.^[2][3] For other uses, see Bradford (disambiguation). ... The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a former political party in the United Kingdom. ... Bradford Pioneer is a defunct newspaper published in Bradford between 1913 to 1936 under the auspices of the Bradford Independent Labour Party, Trades Council and Workers Municipal Federation. ...

After an education at St. Hugh's College, Oxford, she was elected to St. Pancras Borough Council in 1937, and in 1943 she spoke at the annual Labour Party Conference for the first time. She was a senior administrative officer at the Ministry of Food and an ARP warden during the Blitz. St Hughs College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras was a metropolitan borough under London County Council between 1899 and 1965, when it was amalgated with the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn to form the London Borough of Camden. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Minister of Food was a British government job separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture from 1939 until 1954. ... Air Raid Precautions (ARP) was an organisation in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. ... For other uses, see Blitz. ...

Member of Parliament

Following her marriage to Ted Castle in 1944, Barbara became a journalist on the Daily Mirror, which by this time had become strongly pro-Labour. In the 1945 general election, which Labour won in a landslide, she became MP for Blackburn, Lancashire. The fiery redhead soon achieved a reputation as a left-winger and a rousing speaker. During the 1950s she was a high-profile Bevanite and made a name for herself as a vocal advocate of decolonisation and the Anti-Apartheid Movement. In the Wilson government of 1964–1970, she held a succession of ministerial posts. She entered the Cabinet as the first Minister for International Development, in so doing becoming only the fourth woman in British history ever to hold position in a Cabinet. As Minister of Transport (December 23, 1965–April 6, 1968), she introduced the breathalyser to combat drink-driving, and presided over the closure of approximately 2050 miles of railways as she enacted her part of the Beeching cuts. She refused closure of several lines, one example being the Looe Valley Line in Cornwall, and introduced the first Government subsidies for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in the Transport Act 1968. As First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Employment, she was never far from controversy which reached a fever pitch when the trade unions rebelled against her proposals to reduce their powers in her 1969 white paper, 'In Place of Strife'. Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... This article is about the town in Lancashire, England. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Bevanism was the ideological argument for the Bevanites, a movement on the centre left of the Labour Party in the late 1950s and led by Nye Bevan. ... Decolonization generally refers to a movement following the Second World War in which the various European colonies of the world were granted independence. ... Anti-Apartheid Movement, originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British organization that was at the center of the international movement opposing South Africas system of apartheid and supporting South Africas Blacks. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world. ... The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A breathalyzer (or breathalyser) is a device containing a spectrophotometer that is used by police forces to detect the amount of alcohol in ones breath during traffic stops. ... Many railway lines were closed as a result of the Beeching Axe The Beeching Axe is an informal name for the British Governments attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running the British railway system. ... The Looe Valley Line is a railway line from Liskeard to Looe in Cornwall, UK. The line follows the valley of the River Looe for much of its course. ... First Secretary of State is a title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific, currently held by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. ... Minister of Labour re-directs here. ... A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... A white paper is an authoritative report. ... In Place of Strife was a British Government White paper, written in 1969. ...

Secretary of State and defeat of the Labour Government

In Place of Strife (Cmnd. 3888).

In 1974, after Harold Wilson's defeat of Edward Heath, Castle became Secretary of State for Social Services. In the 1975 referendum debate she took a Eurosceptic stance. During a debate with Liberal-leader Jeremy Thorpe he asked her whether, if the vote would be yes, she would stay on as a minister. To this she replied "If the vote is yes my country will need me to save it." Despite her views she later became a Member of the European Parliament (1979–1989). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 366 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (885 × 1,448 pixels, file size: 197 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Cover of In Place of Strife, the United Kingdom governments 1969 white paper on trade union reform. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 366 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (885 × 1,448 pixels, file size: 197 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Cover of In Place of Strife, the United Kingdom governments 1969 white paper on trade union reform. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century. ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ... The United Kingdom referendum of 1975 was a postlegislative referendum held on 5 June 1975 in the whole of the UK over whether there was support for the UK to stay in the European Economic Community, which the UK had entered in 1973, under the Conservative government of Edward Heath. ... Euroscepticism has become a general term for opposition to the process of European integration. ... John Jeremy Thorpe (born April 29, 1929) is a British politician, who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP)[1] is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ...

Castle lost her place as a minister after clashing with the new prime minister, James Callaghan, who took over from Wilson in 1976. In an interview many years later, discussing her removal from office by James Callaghan, she claimed that the Prime Minister had told her he wanted "somebody younger" in the Cabinet, to which she famously remarked that perhaps the most restrained thing she had ever achieved in her life was to not reply with "then why not start with yourself, Jim?" A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Castle Diaries were published after the 1979 General Election, and chronicled her time in office from 1964-1976 and provide an insight into the workings of Cabinet Government. A review in the London Review of Books at the time of their publication claimed, "Barbara Castle's diary shows more about the nature of Cabinet Government than any previous publication...it is, I think, better than Crossman", a reference to the published diaries of former Cabinet Minister Richard Crossman. However, when Enoch Powell reviewed her diaries he remarked that the "overpowering impression left on the reader's mind by her diary is that of triviality: the largest decisions and the profoundest issues are effortlessly trivialised".^[4] The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 and is regarded as a pivotal point in 20th century British politics. ... The London Review of Books (or LRB) is a twice-monthly British literary magazine. ... Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 to April 1974) was a British politician and writer. ... John Enoch Powell, MBE (June 16, 1912 – February 8, 1998) was a British politician, linguist, writer, academic, soldier and poet. ...

Life Peer and Death

In 1990, she was made a life peer in her own right, as Baroness Castle of Blackburn, of Ibstone in the County of Buckinghamshire (having previously enjoyed the courtesy title of 'Lady' as a result of her husband's life peerage, but having refused to use it). She remained active in politics right up until her death, attacking the former Chancellor, Gordon Brown for his refusal to link pensions to earnings at the Labour party conference in 2001. Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... In the United Kingdom, Life Peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are inheritable are known as hereditary peers). ... Ibstone (previously Ipstone) is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. ... Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is one of the home counties in South East England. ... A lady is a woman who is the counterpart of a lord; or, the counterpart of a gentleman. ... For other uses, see Peerage (disambiguation). ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters. ... For others with the same or similar names, see Gordon Brown (disambiguation). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

Barbara Castle's autobiography, Fighting All The Way (ISBN 0-330-32886-7), was published in 1993. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

A biography by Lisa Martineau, Barbara Castle: Politics and Power[1] (EAN 0233994807), was published in 2000 and Red Queen: The Authorised Biography of Barbara Castle by Anne Perkins (ISBN-10 0333905113) in 2003. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...

Notes

1. ^ Barbara Anne Betts, Barbara Castle Exhibition, Cottontown
2. ^ Anne Perkins. "Baroness Castle of Blackburn", The Guardian, May 4, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-09-17. 
3. ^ Tribute to Barbara Castle.
4. ^ "The shallow diaries of a cabinet lady", Now!, September 26, 1980.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• List of Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom 1979–1984
• List of Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom 1984–1989